Neoadjuvant oncolytic virotherapy before surgery sensitizes triple-negative breast cancer to immune checkpoint...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Virology
• Immunotherapy

Background:

• Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) presents limited therapeutic options and severe toxicities.
• Current immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) trials show limited success in TNBC, with responders often having pre-existing anticancer immunity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate oncolytic viruses (OVs) as a strategy to sensitize TNBC to ICIs.
• To evaluate the efficacy of early OV treatment combined with surgical resection in a TNBC model.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a therapeutic preclinical model simulating neoadjuvant treatment for newly diagnosed TNBC.
• Administered oncolytic virus (OV) therapy in conjunction with surgical resection.
• Assessed the impact of OV therapy on TNBC response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB).

Main Results:

• Early OV treatment followed by surgical resection demonstrated long-term survival benefits.
• OV therapy successfully sensitized refractory TNBC to ICB.
• Combination therapy prevented relapse in the majority of treated animals.

Conclusions:

• Oncolytic virus therapy can enhance the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in triple-negative breast cancer.
• The combination of OV and ICB warrants investigation as a neoadjuvant treatment strategy for TNBC.
• This approach may be beneficial in the time interval between TNBC diagnosis and surgical resection.