Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41364532›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of clinical investigation2026

CD8+ T cells in the tumor microenvironment modulate the response to endocrine therapy in breast cancer.

Fabiana Napolitano, Yunguan Wang, Dhivya R Sudhan, Paula I Gonzalez-Ericsson, Luigi Formisano, Nisha Unni, Shahbano Shakeel, James Z Zhu, Khushi Ahuja, Lei Guo and 21 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of clinical investigation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

31 authors.

Fabiana NapolitanoUT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Yunguan WangDivision of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
Dhivya R SudhanUT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Paula I Gonzalez-EricssonDepartments of Medicine, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Luigi FormisanoDepartment of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
Nisha UnniDepartment of Medical Oncology.
Shahbano ShakeelDepartment of Medical Oncology.
James Z ZhuQuantitative Biomedical Research Center, Peter O'Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, and.
Khushi AhujaLyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics, UTSW Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Lei GuoQuantitative Biomedical Research Center, Peter O'Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, and.
María Rosario Chica-ParradoUT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Yuki MatsunagaUT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Pamela LunaUT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Chang-Ching A LinUT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Yasuaki UemotoUT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Kyung-Min LeeUT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Hongli MaKnight Cancer Institute, and.
Nathaniel J EvansKnight Cancer Institute, and.
Alberto ServettoUT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Saurabh MendirattaUT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Spencer D BarnesLyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics, UTSW Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Roberto BiancoDepartment of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
Yisheng V FangDepartment of Pathology, UTSW Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Lin XuQuantitative Biomedical Research Center, Peter O'Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, and.
Jeon LeeLyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics, UTSW Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Tao WangQuantitative Biomedical Research Center, Peter O'Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, and.
Justin M BalkoDepartments of Medicine, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Gordon B MillsDivision of Oncological Sciences, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
Marilyne LabrieDepartment of Immunology and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.
Ariella B HankerUT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Carlos L ArteagaUT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.

Funding

UT Southwestern Medical Center Simmons Comprehensive Cancer CenterP30CA142543 · NCI · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI MELANIE H. COBB · 2010 to 2026
$53.7M
TISSUE CoreP50CA098131 · NCI · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · PI PARK, BEN HO, PIETENPOL, JENNIFER A · 2003 to 2024
$48.7M
Role of HER2 mutations in breast cancer progression and response to targeted therapiesR01CA224899 · NCI · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI ARTEAGA, CARLOS L · 2018 to 2022
$1.8M
Applying deep learning to predict T cell receptor binding specificity of neoantigens and response to checkpoint inhibitorsR01CA258584 · NCI · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI WANG, TAO, WANG, XINLEI · 2021 to 2025
$1.4M
Machine learning for identifying antigen-antibody interactions from massive sequencing dataR01AI190103 · NIAID · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI Junzhou Huang, JUN WANG · 2025 to 2026
$1.3M
TCR-antigen foundation model to empower TCR-based diagnostics and therapeuticsR01AI192499 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF TX MD ANDERSON CAN CTR · PI David Eric Gerber, Jian Qiao · 2025 to 2026
$1.0M
NCI NIH HHS P30 CA142543NCI NIH HHS P50 CA098131NCI NIH HHS R01 CA224899NCI NIH HHS R01 CA258584NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI190103NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI192499
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The role of the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) in modulating responses to antiestrogen therapy in hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancers remains unclear. We analyzed pre- and on-treatment biopsies from patients with HR+ breast cancer treated with letrozole to induce estrogen deprivation (ED). Stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, assessed by H&E staining, and immune-related gene sets, including IFN-γ signaling genes, measured by RNA-Seq, were increased in ED-resistant tumors. Cyclic immunofluorescence and spatial transcriptomics revealed an abundance of CD8+ T cells and enhanced antigen processing and immune gene signatures in ED-resistant tumors. In this group, the expression of CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 - chemokine genes involved in CD8+ T cell recruitment - and the CXCR3 receptor were upregulated both before and after letrozole treatment. CXCL11 levels were higher in conditioned media from HR+ breast cancer cells cocultured with CD8+ T cells. Both recombinant CXCL11 and coculture with CD8+ T cells promoted MCF7 and T47D cell growth in estrogen-free conditions. Finally, deletion combined with silencing of the CXCL11 receptors CXCR3 and CXCR7 in MCF7 cells impaired proliferation in response to exogenous CXCL11 and to coculture with CD8+ T cells in estrogen-free conditions. These findings suggest that CD8+ T cell-associated CXCL11 in the TIME modulated the response of HR+ breast cancer cells to estrogen suppression.

Indexed as

Antineoplastic Agents, HormonalBreast NeoplasmsCD8-Positive T-LymphocytesLymphocytes, Tumor-InfiltratingNeoplasm ProteinsTumor MicroenvironmentCell Line, TumorChemokine CXCL11FemaleHumansLetrozoleMCF-7 CellsReceptors, CXCR3Antineoplastic Agents, HormonalChemokine CXCL11CXCL11 protein, humanCXCR3 protein, humanLetrozoleNeoplasm ProteinsReceptors, CXCR3Breast cancerChemokinesDrug therapyImmunologyOncology

Identifiers

PMID41364532
PMCPMC12867153

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.