Turning ER-positive breast cancer into a viral target for immune attack
Official title: Targeting ER+ Breast Cancer Through Induced Viral Mimicry
Funded at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute · NIH-11308203 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project aims to wake up viral-like bits inside ER-positive breast cancer cells so the immune system can spot and attack them.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (La Jolla, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2022 |
| Project end | March 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $446,063 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA269339-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11308203 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with ER-positive (estrogen receptor–positive) breast cancer, including those with metastatic disease, would be the likely candidates for future therapies based on this work.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with ER-negative breast cancers or unrelated conditions would not be expected to benefit directly from this specific approach.
What this research studies
The team is studying ER-positive breast cancer cells to find a protein (FBXO44) that keeps viral-like genetic elements turned off. By blocking FBXO44 or its partner SUV39H1, these normally silent elements can become active and trigger internal antiviral alarms in cancer cells. That alarm can cause replication stress in the tumor and recruit immune cells such as T cells and natural killer cells to attack the cancer. The work is done in cancer cell models and tumor data analyses with the goal of creating treatments that make ER-positive tumors more visible to the immune system while sparing normal cells.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could make ER-positive breast cancers more visible to a patient's immune system and improve immune-based treatment options.
How similar studies have gone: Related strategies that reactivate endogenous retroviruses using epigenetic drugs have shown promising preclinical results and some early clinical signals, but targeting FBXO44/SUV39H1 is a novel and specific approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
La Jolla, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Spruck, Charles H. — Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
- Study coordinator: Spruck, Charles H.
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
ER+ Breast Cancer Bone Metastasis in a Real Body Environment
This grant aims to understand why estrogen receptor alpha–positive breast cancer often spreads to bone and how the bone environment and immune system affect treatment resistance.
-
Targeting RAGE to fight obesity-related ER+ breast cancer and its drug resistance
A scientist team will explore how obesity-related inflammation involving RAGE and estrone interacts with ER+ breast cancer to drive growth and spread, aiming to find strategies to overcome therapy resistance.
-
Understanding estrogen signals in bone to stop ER+ breast cancer spread
This NIH grant aims to uncover how estrogen signals inside bone help ER-positive breast cancer cells grow and spread, with the goal of finding better ways to prevent bone metastasis.
-
Progesterone Receptor Signaling and Dormancy in ER+ Breast Cancer
Researchers are studying how hormone signals in ER+/PR+ breast cancer influence cancer cell dormancy and later recurrence.
-
Heavy Metals and Breast Cancer Treatment Resistance
This project explores how exposure to heavy metals might make ER+ breast cancer harder to treat and how we might overcome this challenge.
-
Improving CDK7-targeted treatments for estrogen receptor–positive (ER+) breast cancer
This project looks at whether drugs that block CDK7, alone or combined with other medicines, can overcome resistance in ER+ breast cancers that no longer respond to hormone therapy and CDK4/6 inhibitors.
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.