Translational research of hormone therapy resistance mechanisms using breast cancer clinical specimens

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K17549
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 55010:General surgery and pediatric surgery-related
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Kawaguchi-Sakita Nobuko 京都大学, 医学研究科, 特定助教 (60771540)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 乳がん / ホルモン療法 / 免疫

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The number of breast cancer cases in Japan is 90,000 annually, and among them, nearly 70% patients have hormone receptor-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer.Although the prognosis is generally good with postoperative hormone therapy, early recurrence and late recurrence after more than 10 years are also experienced. Therefore, we conducted an analysis using specimens and clinical information from clinical trials of preoperative hormone therapy, with the aim of predicting treatment-resistant cases of hormone therapy and elucidating the mechanism of treatment resistance.
Focusing on the changes in the immune system during breast cancer treatment, we conducted analysis of the expression of immune-related protein and a detailed expression analysis using nCounter to elucidate the changes in the expression of the immune system in cancer tissues due to hormone therapy.

Free Research Field

乳がん

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

免疫系の発現の推移から治療抵抗メカニズムが解明できれば、治療前に薬物治療応答性を予測した最適な治療の提供、また治療抵抗性を打破する新規治療法の開発が可能となると考えており、引き続き研究を進めていく予定である。