Epithelial cells captured from ductal carcinoma in situ reveal a gene expression signature associated with progression to invasive breast cancer.

Breast cancer biomarkers that can precisely predict the risk of progression of non-invasive ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) lesions to invasive disease are lacking. The identification of molecular alterations that occur during the invasion process is crucial for the discovery of drivers of transition to invasive disease and, consequently, biomarkers with clinical utility. In this study, we explored differences in gene expression in mammary epithelial cells before and after the morphological manifestation of invasion, i.