Altered tissue stiffness has raised as both the cause and the consequence of breast tumorigenesis. Imaging the heterogeneous mechanical properties of tissue microenvironment provides crucial insights into micro-mechanical drivers of carcinogenesis. Here, we introduce laser Speckle rHEologicAl micRoscopy (SHEAR), which enables mapping the frequency-dependent shear viscoelastic modulus, G*(x,y,ω), with a spatial resolution of < 50 mm, over multiple cm2, in solid tumors within minutes. SHEAR mapping in a cohort of excised breast specimens demonstrates that |G*(x,y)| closely agrees with tumor histopathology, its gradient, |∇|G*(x,y,ω)||, is increased at the tumor invasive front, and both metrics are associated with tumor prognosis.
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