In this study, we used bioengineered scaffolds as a tool to discover a novel gene signature that is associated with tumor-bearing mice, including elevated expression of C1qa, C1qb, and Trem2. By single-cell RNA sequencing we mapped this signature to a population of SAMs and determined that a corresponding TAM population (Cq-TAMs) is present at the primary tumor in multiple mouse models of PDA. Here, TREM2 is linked to neoplasm.