Boosting immune therapy for breast cancer by facilitating movement of immune cells into the tumour

Project Description

Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive form of breast cancer with a high tendency to spread to other organs which results in lower survival outcomes relative to other breast cancer subtypes. Immunotherapy is a treatment that boosts a person’s own immune system to kill cancer cells. Several clinical trials have evaluated the effectiveness of immunotherapy for the treatment of people with TNBC and shown that a subset of these people benefit from immunotherapy, but unfortunately these positive outcomes are not observed in all patients.

One key factor that influences whether immunotherapy is effective is the extent that immune cells, known as T-Cells, can successfully reach the tumour. Prior research by Associate Professor Paul Beavis has revealed that proteins, known as CXCL9 and CXCL10, produced by macrophages, another immune cell type found in tumours, are critical for attracting T cells into the tumour site. The presence of these proteins in tumours correlates very strongly with favourable prognosis in people with breast cancer. In this NBCF-funded study Associate Professor Beavis and the team aim to identify new approaches to enhance the production of CXCL9 and CXCL10 by macrophages and using pre-clinical models of breast cancer determine if this can be applied to improve the efficacy of currently approved immunotherapies.

Why is this work needed

TNBC makes up approximately 15% to 20% of all breast cancer cases. It is regarded as one of the most aggressive subtypes, with a higher mortality rate relative to its incidence. While immunotherapy has shown promise in the treatment of TNBC, its effectiveness remains limited, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of how to enhance the therapeutic potential of immunotherapy for treating TNBC.

Expected outcomes

The successful outcome of this research will establish new approaches to enhance the efficacy of conventional immunotherapy in pre-clinical models with tumours that have low levels of immune cells.