Justin Lathia, Juyeun Lee, Yoon-Mi Chung, Lee Curtin, Daniel Silver, Yue Hao, Cathy Li, Josephine Volovetz, Ellen Hong, Jakub Jarmula, Sabrina Wang, Kristen Kay, Michael Berens, Michael Nicosia, Kristin Swanson, Nima Sharifi
Many cancers, including glioblastoma (GBM), have a male-biased sex difference in incidence and outcome. The underlying reasons for this sex bias are unclear but likely involve differences in tumor cell state and immune response. This effect is further amplified by sex hormones, including androgens, which have been shown to inhibit anti-tumor T cell immunity. Here, we show that androgens drive anti-tumor immunity in brain tumors, in contrast to its effect in other tumor types. Upon castration, tumor growth was accelerated with attenuated T cell function in GBM and brain tumor models, but the opposite was observed when tumors were located outside the brain...
March 29, 2024: Research Square