Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41642991›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2026

Evaluation of targeted and immune combination therapies in a rat model of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.

Ernesto Rojas-Jimenez, Triet M Bui, Pengze Yan, Zheqi Li, Marco Seehawer, Jun Nishida, Pierre Foidart, Gordon J Freeman, Kornelia Polyak

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

9 authors.

Ernesto Rojas-JimenezDepartment of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215.
Triet M BuiDepartment of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215.
Pengze YanDepartment of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215.ORCID 0000-0001-8142-0944
Zheqi LiDepartment of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215.
Marco SeehawerDepartment of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215.
Jun NishidaDepartment of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215.ORCID 0000-0001-5098-9361
Pierre FoidartDepartment of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215.
Gordon J FreemanDepartment of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215.ORCID 0000-0002-7210-5616
Kornelia PolyakDepartment of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215.ORCID 0000-0002-5964-0382

Funding

Transgenic/KnockoutP01AI056299 · NIAID · HARVARD UNIVERSITY (MEDICAL SCHOOL) · PI BLAZAR, BRUCE R · 2003 to 2023
$42.5M
Cancer Chemical Biology and Metabolism Training ProgramT32CA236754 · NCI · DANA-FARBER CANCER INST · PI Nika N Danial, THOMAS M ROBERTS · 2019 to 2026
$2.6M
Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) NANCI NIH HHS T32 CA236754NIAID NIH HHS P01 AI056299Novartis AG | Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) NA
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer is the most prevalent subtype, commonly responsive to endocrine therapies. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have limited efficacy in ER-positive disease, highlighting the need for the development of combination immunotherapies for these patients. We previously established that nitroso-N-methylurea-induced mammary tumors in outbred Sprague-Dawley rats mimic immune evasive mechanisms and the heterogeneity of ICI response observed in patients. We identified a "luminal growing" gene signature in ER-positive tumors, which correlated with tumor growth and immune-related differences. Here, we evaluated targeting candidates from this signature KMT5B/C and IKBKE using inhibitors A-196 and IKBKEi respectively, alongside anti-estrogen (fulvestrant) and a TGFβ blocking antibody (NIS793), both individually and in combination with αPD-L1, within this rat model. Fulvestrant emerged as the most effective treatment, inducing regression of most existing tumors and reducing on-treatment tumor burden when combined with αPD-L1. A-196, while ineffective as a monotherapy, demonstrated enhanced response when combined with αPD-L1. Comprehensive tumor profiling through polychromatic flow cytometry and single-cell RNA sequencing revealed that A-196 induced a luminal-to-basal shift in tumor epithelial cells, enhancing antigen presentation, whereas epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition was linked to fulvestrant resistance. Our findings underscore the value of the rat mammary tumor model for preclinical studies in ER-positive breast cancer and advocate for the further validation and potential clinical development of KMT5B/C inhibitors to enhance the efficacy and broaden the applicability of ICI therapy in cancer patients.

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsMammary Neoplasms, ExperimentalReceptors, EstrogenAnimalsDisease Models, AnimalFemaleFulvestrantHumansImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsImmunotherapyRatsRats, Sprague-DawleyFulvestrantImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsReceptors, Estrogenbreast cancerendocrine therapyhormone receptor positiveimmune checkpoint inhibitortargeted therapy

Identifiers

PMID41642991
PMCPMC12891023

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.