Decoding neutrophil spatial heterogeneity and clinical implications in breast cancer.

In triple-negative breast cancer, neutrophil–tumor cell proximity is linked to favorable prognosis, and neutrophil–immune cell proximity predicts superior immunotherapy response.

• Why it matters: Neutrophil spatial heterogeneity in breast tumors is poorly characterized, limiting how well clinicians can use tumor microenvironment structure to guide prognosis and immunotherapy selection.
• What they did: The study integrated AI-based computational pathology in a cohort of 1,113 breast cancer cases with single-cell spatial omics in 104 samples, then combined neutrophil spatial patterns with established biomarkers.
• The result: Spatial omics and experimental validation showed tumor-proximal neutrophils enhance MHC I expression on tumor cells through inflammatory crosstalk, and immune-adjacent neutrophils adopt an antigen-presenting phenotype that is augmentable by targeting polyamine metabolism.

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