Zebrafish Avatar testing preclinical study predicts chemotherapy response in breast cancer

Raquel V. Mendes; Joana M. Ribeiro; Helena Gouveia; Cátia Rebelo de Almeida; Mireia Castillo-Martin; Maria José Brito; Rita Canas-Marques; Eva Batista; Celeste Alves; Berta Sousa; Pedro Gouveia; Miguel Godinho Ferreira; Maria João Cardoso; Fatima Cardoso; Rita Fior

doi:10.1038/s41698-025-00882-0

Zebrafish Avatar testing preclinical study predicts chemotherapy response in breast cancer

Raquel V. Mendes, Joana M. Ribeiro, Helena Gouveia, Cátia Rebelo de Almeida, Mireia Castillo-Martin, Maria José Brito, Rita Canas-Marques, Eva Batista, Celeste Alves, Berta Sousa, Pedro Gouveia, Miguel Godinho Ferreira, Maria João Cardoso, Fatima Cardoso, Rita Fior

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Chemotherapy remains the mainstay in most high-risk breast cancer (BC) settings, with several equivalent options of treatment. However, the efficacy of each treatment varies between patients and there is currently no test to determine which option will be the most effective for each individual patient. Here, we developed a fast in-vivo test for BC therapy screening: the zebrafish patient-derived-xenograft model (zAvatars), where in-vivo results can be obtained in just 10 days. To determine the predictive value of the BC zAvatars we performed a preclinical study, where zAvatars were treated with the same therapy as the donor-patient and their response to therapy was compared. Our data show a 100% concordance (18 out of 18) between the zAvatar-test and the corresponding patient’s clinical response to treatment. Altogether, our results suggest that the zAvatar model constitutes a promising in-vivo assay to optimize cancer treatments in a truly personalized manner.

Original language	English
Article number	94
Journal	npj Precision Oncology
Volume	9
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41698-025-00882-0
State	Published - Dec 2025
Externally published	Yes

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Mendes, R. V., Ribeiro, J. M., Gouveia, H., Rebelo de Almeida, C., Castillo-Martin, M., Brito, M. J., Canas-Marques, R., Batista, E., Alves, C., Sousa, B., Gouveia, P., Ferreira, M. G., Cardoso, M. J., Cardoso, F., & Fior, R. (2025). Zebrafish Avatar testing preclinical study predicts chemotherapy response in breast cancer. npj Precision Oncology, 9(1), Article 94. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41698-025-00882-0

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title = "Zebrafish Avatar testing preclinical study predicts chemotherapy response in breast cancer",

abstract = "Chemotherapy remains the mainstay in most high-risk breast cancer (BC) settings, with several equivalent options of treatment. However, the efficacy of each treatment varies between patients and there is currently no test to determine which option will be the most effective for each individual patient. Here, we developed a fast in-vivo test for BC therapy screening: the zebrafish patient-derived-xenograft model (zAvatars), where in-vivo results can be obtained in just 10 days. To determine the predictive value of the BC zAvatars we performed a preclinical study, where zAvatars were treated with the same therapy as the donor-patient and their response to therapy was compared. Our data show a 100% concordance (18 out of 18) between the zAvatar-test and the corresponding patient{\textquoteright}s clinical response to treatment. Altogether, our results suggest that the zAvatar model constitutes a promising in-vivo assay to optimize cancer treatments in a truly personalized manner.",

author = "Mendes, {Raquel V.} and Ribeiro, {Joana M.} and Helena Gouveia and {Rebelo de Almeida}, C{\'a}tia and Mireia Castillo-Martin and Brito, {Maria Jos{\'e}} and Rita Canas-Marques and Eva Batista and Celeste Alves and Berta Sousa and Pedro Gouveia and Ferreira, {Miguel Godinho} and Cardoso, {Maria Jo{\~a}o} and Fatima Cardoso and Rita Fior",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2025.",

year = "2025",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1038/s41698-025-00882-0",

language = "English",

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journal = "npj Precision Oncology",

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Mendes, RV, Ribeiro, JM, Gouveia, H, Rebelo de Almeida, C, Castillo-Martin, M, Brito, MJ, Canas-Marques, R, Batista, E, Alves, C, Sousa, B, Gouveia, P, Ferreira, MG, Cardoso, MJ, Cardoso, F & Fior, R 2025, 'Zebrafish Avatar testing preclinical study predicts chemotherapy response in breast cancer', npj Precision Oncology, vol. 9, no. 1, 94. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41698-025-00882-0

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T1 - Zebrafish Avatar testing preclinical study predicts chemotherapy response in breast cancer

AU - Mendes, Raquel V.

AU - Ribeiro, Joana M.

AU - Gouveia, Helena

AU - Rebelo de Almeida, Cátia

AU - Castillo-Martin, Mireia

AU - Brito, Maria José

AU - Canas-Marques, Rita

AU - Batista, Eva

AU - Alves, Celeste

AU - Sousa, Berta

AU - Gouveia, Pedro

AU - Ferreira, Miguel Godinho

AU - Cardoso, Maria João

AU - Cardoso, Fatima

AU - Fior, Rita

PY - 2025/12

Y1 - 2025/12

N2 - Chemotherapy remains the mainstay in most high-risk breast cancer (BC) settings, with several equivalent options of treatment. However, the efficacy of each treatment varies between patients and there is currently no test to determine which option will be the most effective for each individual patient. Here, we developed a fast in-vivo test for BC therapy screening: the zebrafish patient-derived-xenograft model (zAvatars), where in-vivo results can be obtained in just 10 days. To determine the predictive value of the BC zAvatars we performed a preclinical study, where zAvatars were treated with the same therapy as the donor-patient and their response to therapy was compared. Our data show a 100% concordance (18 out of 18) between the zAvatar-test and the corresponding patient’s clinical response to treatment. Altogether, our results suggest that the zAvatar model constitutes a promising in-vivo assay to optimize cancer treatments in a truly personalized manner.

AB - Chemotherapy remains the mainstay in most high-risk breast cancer (BC) settings, with several equivalent options of treatment. However, the efficacy of each treatment varies between patients and there is currently no test to determine which option will be the most effective for each individual patient. Here, we developed a fast in-vivo test for BC therapy screening: the zebrafish patient-derived-xenograft model (zAvatars), where in-vivo results can be obtained in just 10 days. To determine the predictive value of the BC zAvatars we performed a preclinical study, where zAvatars were treated with the same therapy as the donor-patient and their response to therapy was compared. Our data show a 100% concordance (18 out of 18) between the zAvatar-test and the corresponding patient’s clinical response to treatment. Altogether, our results suggest that the zAvatar model constitutes a promising in-vivo assay to optimize cancer treatments in a truly personalized manner.

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Zebrafish Avatar testing preclinical study predicts chemotherapy response in breast cancer

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