Dr. Askandar Iqbal from TRIPM recently presented his latest findings at the Single-Cell Genomics Gordon Research Conference 2026 held in Les Diablerets, Switzerland, in May 2026.
His presentation, titled “Pathway-Level Single-Cell Profiling Reveals Metabolic Competition in Breast Tumor Ecosystems,” explored the metabolic complexity of breast tumors, with a particular focus on triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Using single-cell RNA sequencing data from more than 100,000 cells derived from primary breast tumors, Dr. Iqbal and collaborators performed pathway-level analyses to characterize metabolic heterogeneity within the tumor microenvironment.
Dr. Iqbal described how the team applied pathway scoring across 90 curated metabolic pathways representing 1,500 genes. This approach revealed striking metabolic diversity across tumor subpopulations. Distinct clones exhibited differential activation of glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), lipid metabolism, and one‑carbon metabolism, highlighting the coexistence of multiple metabolic states within the same tumor.
A key insight from the presentation was the discovery that both malignant cells and infiltrating immune cells engage in competing metabolic programs. OXPHOS emerged as a dominant shared pathway, accompanied by elevated glycolysis, pyrimidine biosynthesis, and folate‑mediated one‑carbon metabolism. Dr. Iqbal highlighted a subset of tumor cells with particularly high mitochondrial activity, noting that these cells were enriched for therapy‑resistance markers—pointing to potential metabolic vulnerabilities that could be therapeutically targeted.
Using pseudotime trajectory analysis, Dr. Iqbal further demonstrated that metabolic states evolve dynamically during tumor progression, underscoring the adaptive nature of tumor metabolism.
In summary, Dr. Iqbal emphasized that these findings reveal the profound clonal and functional metabolic heterogeneity that shapes breast tumor ecosystems. The work illustrates the power of single‑cell approaches to uncover metabolic competition between cancer and immune cells and highlights the potential of pathway‑level profiling to guide precision metabolic interventions in heterogeneous tumors.
Aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
SDG 4: Quality Education; SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
