Thus, in a panel of breast cancer samples, we identified tumor cells that did not form part of
the bulk tumor mass, but instead were interspersed within the adjacent stroma — as if forming the forefront of cancer cell invasion.
Together, these results suggested that EMT contributes to the establishment of a small cell subpopulation in malignant
tumors; this population is then capable of driving the regeneration of the
tumor, even when the
bulk tumor cell
mass is destroyed by therapeutic regimens.