A team of researchers led by Clotilde Théry (photo), PhD, Research Director at the INSERM, Institut Curie, Paris, and President of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV), has uncovered a mechanism whereby tumor cells impact tumor-associate macrophages (TAMs) in human triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Via extracellular vesicles (EVs), these tumors promote macrophages with pro-inflammatory features, correlated with better clinical outcome. The authors believe that exploration of these EVs as tools, alone or in combination with other therapies, might reveal ways to promote a favorable environment for the generation of anti-tumor immune response. The research team showed that breast cancer cells release soluble factors and EVs that promote monocyte differentiation toward distinct macrophage fates. In particular, the team demonstrated that these EVs specifically promoted pro-inflammatory macrophages bearing an interferon response signature.