AbstractMore than 70% of human breast cancers (BCs) are estrogen receptor α-positive (ER⁺). A clinical challenge of ER⁺BC is that they can recur decades after initial treatments. Mechanisms governing latent disease remain elusive due to lack of adequate in vivo models. We compare intraductal xenografts of ER⁺and triple-negative (TN) BC cells and demonstrate that disseminated TNBC cells proliferate similarly as TNBC cells at the primary site whereas disseminated ER⁺BC cells proliferate slower, they decreaseCDH1and increaseZEB1,2expressions, and exhibit characteristics of epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity (EMP) and dormancy. Forced E-cadherin expression overcomes ER⁺BC dormancy. Cytokine signalings are enriched in more activeversusinactive disseminated tumour cells, suggesting microenvironmental triggers for awakening. We conclude that intraductal xenografts model ER + BC dormancy and reveal that EMP is essential for the generation of a dormant cell state and that targeting exit from EMP has therapeutic potential.