The Rafat laboratory examines the biological, chemical, and physical cues that influence cancer metastasis and recurrence. The rate of local recurrence remains high for triple-negative breast cancer patients despite surgical, radiation, and chemotherapeutic treatment. Recent studies have found that tumor re-seeding by circulating tumor cells may contribute to recurrence. The role of the microenvironment in cancer relapse after treatment, however, is not well understood. We are interested in determining how the tumor and tissue microenvironments facilitate breast cancer recurrence and metastasis.