Fig. 3: Contribution of cell clusters to BCE and non-BCE.

a Heatmap depicting the results of the unsupervised k-means clustering. The use of four markers (HER2, SLC7A5, ER, and cMET6) resulted in the identification of six clusters (1–6). Cluster 2 cells were enriched for ER positivity, and cluster 4 shows ER and cMET positivity. HER2 expression was observed in both clusters 5 and 6. The likelihood of breast cancer events (BCE) associated with each of the clusters is also shown. b Box plots showing the association of the clusters with likelihood of BCE. BCE patients tended to have very little cluster 2 and 4 type cells and more of  cluster 5 and 6 type cells. After k-means clustering is performed, the proportion of each cell type (clusters) in each patient is calculated. Comparison of cluster profiles by BCE showed that cluster 2 and 4 cells appeared more in non-BCE patients while cluster 5 and 6 appeared more in BCE patients.