Stress-related hormonal signals and immune response in a specific breast cancer type

Who could benefit from this research

What this research studies

This project explores how stress-related chemicals like adrenaline affect the tumor environment in triple-negative breast cancer and whether those effects help the cancer hide from the immune system. Using patient-derived samples and preclinical models, researchers will examine how stress signaling changes immune cell presence and inflammatory factors that support tumor growth. The team will test how drugs that block adrenergic signals influence the activity of immune cells and the effectiveness of immune-based therapies. If successful, findings could point to new strategies to boost treatment responses for patients with TNBC who do not currently benefit from immunotherapies.

Why it matters

Where this research is happening

• Emory University
  Atlanta, United States Active

Researchers

• Principal investigator: Gandhi, Shipra — Emory University
• Study coordinator: Gandhi, Shipra

Related research

Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.

• 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.

  NIH research Emory University · Atlanta, United States · NIH-11287201

• Understanding how stress affects immune response in aggressive breast cancer

  This study is looking at how stress affects the immune system in people with triple negative breast cancer, to see if managing stress can help make cancer treatments work better.

  NIH research Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corp · Buffalo, United States · NIH-10727051

• Genomic study to understand how genetics and epigenetics shape triple-negative breast cancer in African ancestry

  This study looks at how inherited genes and gene activity affect triple-negative breast cancer in people of African ancestry to better understand why outcomes can be worse.

  NIH research Tuskegee University · Tuskegee Institute, United States · NIH-11621786

• Co-Targeting IL-6 and CDK4/6 to Prevent TNBC in Women Veterans

  A study aims to block two cancer-promoting pathways (IL-6 and CDK4/6) to prevent or reduce progression of triple-negative breast cancer in women veterans.

  NIH research Baltimore VA Medical Center · Baltimore, United States · NIH-11608792

• Linking heavy metal exposure to a tougher breast cancer type (TNBC)

  Aimed at understanding how heavy metals like cadmium might trigger a dangerous breast cancer type (TNBC) in people, especially those with BRCA1 risk, to identify possible future treatment strategies.

  NIH research University of Louisville · Louisville, United States · NIH-11567535

• Dormancy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: How Liver and Skin Metastases Go Quiet or Reactivate

  Researchers will study how dormant cancer cells in liver and skin metastases of triple-negative breast cancer become quiescent or wake up, using organ-on-chip models and single-cell analysis to map chromatin states.

  NIH research Massachusetts Institute of Technology · Cambridge, United States · NIH-11531542

About this research

1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.