How ancestry affects breast tumors' immune response to immunotherapy
Project-Race and ancestry as predictors of the tumor immune microenvironment and response to immunotherapy
This project looks at whether race and genetic ancestry relate to how breast cancers respond to immunotherapy, with a focus on women with triple-negative breast cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11144516 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers will use cancer registry records to see how often women of different racial and ancestry groups receive immune checkpoint inhibitors and how they fare after treatment. They will analyze tumor tissue to measure immune cell infiltration and link those patterns to genetic ancestry and clinical outcomes. The work focuses on breast cancer—especially triple-negative breast cancer—and includes women of African, Hispanic/Latina, Asian, and European ancestry. Combining population data and tumor analyses aims to explain disparities in response to immunotherapy.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Women with breast cancer, particularly those with triple-negative tumors or those able to share medical records and tumor tissue, are the most relevant candidates for this work.
Not a fit: People without breast cancer or those not treated with immunotherapy are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help personalize immunotherapy and reduce racial and ancestry-related gaps in breast cancer outcomes.
How similar studies have performed: Previous studies show tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes can predict immunotherapy benefit, but few large studies have compared these effects across racial and ancestry groups, so this approach is partly evidence-based but still addresses a novel gap.
Where this research is happening
San Francisco, United States
- University of California, San Francisco — San Francisco, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ziv, Elad — University of California, San Francisco
- Study coordinator: Ziv, Elad
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.