Spatial multi-omics was applied to map colorectal cancer micrometastases across primary tumors and matched liver and lung metastases, characterizing their molecular and immune landscape.
Liver micrometastases were identified as an early evolved, stem-like, immune-suppressed residual disease state, and a six-gene recurrence signature linked to this state was described.
This is a commentary/preview article summarizing findings from Liu et al., so independent validation details, sample size, and full methodology are not directly reported here.
A six-gene recurrence signature tied to immune-suppressed, stem-like liver micrometastases may offer a future tool for identifying colorectal cancer patients at high risk of relapse, though clinical validation is still needed.