Therefore, to understand the potential roles that the tumor-associated miRNAs from the young Lebanese cohort might play in breast cancer initiation, this risk-progression 3D culture model was utilized; to investigate whether patient-associated miRNAs are capable of inducing, in S1 cells, pre-neoplastic phenotypic changes similar to ones observed in Cx43-KO-S1 cells. The gene discussed is GJA1; the disease is breast carcinoma.