Dr. Gayathri Devi presented the abstract “Spatial Immunophenotyping Identifies Differential Infiltration of Immunosuppressive Subsets in Tumor Stroma and Invasive Margin and PDL1 expression in Inflammatory and non-Inflammatory Breast Cancer Patients overexpressing X-Linked Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein” during the Basic and Translational Science Session at EBCC: Defining Effective Treatment and Research through Multidisciplinarity in Barcelona.
This collaboration, including Duke University, University of Antwerp, Sint Augustinus Hospital, East Carolina University, and Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, describes the first study to demonstrate a strong association between high X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) and an immunosuppressive tumor micro-environment using spatial immunophenotyping and gene expression analysis of IBC and subtype matched IBC and nonIBC patient tumors.
“It becomes clear that the immune environment plays a crucial role in the clinical behaviour of inflammatory breast cancer. Entangling how XIAP (a key cell death regulator) signaling is involved opens exiting new opportunities for the treatment of IBC,” says Van Dam, head of the Multidisciplinary Oncology Center Antwerp Hospital (UZA).
Dr. Devi adds, “We have been able to achieve this breakthrough due to a long standing collaboration with Steven Van Laere, PhD and Peter Van Dam, MD, PhD at University of Antwerp in not only research but also training of physician scientists and PhD students."
This work is supported in part by DoD Breakthrough awards W81XWH-17-1-0297, W81XWH-20-1-0153, for Devi; Flanders (FWO) 1189617N, Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer & Ruban Rose for PhD trainee Van Berckelaer.