We previously showed that such EpCAM-based immunoisolation has negligible MSC contamination (19) and confirmed through rigorous characterization studies showing that tumor cells subjected to such contact culture gain advantageous features such as metabolic plasticity (20), resistance to estrogen-targeted therapies, and enhanced survival of disseminated tumor cells early in the metastatic process (19, 21). Here, EPCAM is linked to neoplasm.