Immune suppression and social factors in breast cancer
Official title: The role of immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment and association with social drivers of health in patients with breast cancer
Funded at University of Southern California · NIH-11143006 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how immune-suppressing cells in breast tumors and patients' social conditions relate to outcomes for people with breast cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Southern California NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Los Angeles, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | August 1, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $425,717 |
| NIH project number | 5P20CA290458-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11143006 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with breast cancer treated at the University of Southern California who can provide tumor tissue and information about their social or demographic circumstances across different cancer subtypes.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without available tumor tissue, those treated outside the USC system, or people with cancers other than breast cancer are unlikely to benefit directly from this work.
What this research studies
You would be asked to let researchers analyze your breast tumor tissue and share information about social factors like access to care and neighborhood. Scientists at USC will map suppressive immune cell types in tumors using pathology, engineering tools, and computational analysis and compare patterns across different breast cancer subtypes. They will combine those immune profiles with social drivers of health to look for links to treatment response. The team plans to use these findings to help design future clinical trials that match patients to the right immunotherapy approaches.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could help identify biomarkers that predict who may respond to immunotherapy and lead to fairer, more personalized treatment decisions.
How similar studies have gone: Some prior studies show immune cell patterns can predict immunotherapy response in other cancers, but combining detailed suppressive-immune profiling with social drivers in breast cancer is largely novel.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Roussos Torres, Evanthia Theodosiou — University of Southern California
- Study coordinator: Roussos Torres, Evanthia Theodosiou
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Combined targeting of DNA repair and macrophage immunosuppression in BRCA-associated breast cancer
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Stress-related hormonal signals and immune response in a specific breast cancer type
A study in triple-negative breast cancer looks at how stress hormones may weaken the body's immune attack and whether blocking those signals could improve cancer treatment.
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Investigating how stress affects the immune response in aggressive breast cancer.
This study is looking at how stress affects the immune system's ability to fight triple negative breast cancer and hopes to find ways, like using certain medications, to make treatments work better for patients dealing with this type of cancer.
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Why some breast cancers in Hispanic/Latino people block the immune system
This project looks at how breast tumors in Hispanic/Latino adults block immune responses by analyzing blood and tumor samples to find clues that might guide treatment.
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How the immune environment affects breast cancer in Hispanic/Latino people
This project looks at how immune-suppressing cells and signals in tumors differ in Hispanic/Latino adults with breast cancer to help guide better treatments.
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Combining DNA-repair targeting and blocking suppressive immune cells in BRCA1/2 breast cancer
This project combines PARP inhibitor treatment with drugs that block tumor-associated macrophages to help people with BRCA1 or BRCA2 breast cancer generate a stronger immune attack against their tumors and improve cancer control.
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.