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Updated: Aug 6, 2026
An Orthotopic Model of Serous Ovarian Cancer in Immunocompetent Mice for in vivo Tumor Imaging and Monitoring of Tumor Immune Responses
Published on: November 28, 2010
Immunotherapy does not impair ovarian function in a mouse model of breast cancer
Payton De La Cruz1,2, Morgan F Woodman-Sousa2,3, Julia N McAdams2
1Pathobiology Graduate Program, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States.
Background:
Representing 15%-20% of all breast cancer cases, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is diagnosed more frequently in reproductive-age women and exhibits higher rates of disease metastasis and recurrence when compared with other subtypes. Few targeted treatments exist for TNBC, and many patients experience infertility and endocrine disruption as a result of frontline chemotherapy treatment. While they are a promising option for less toxic therapeutic approaches, little is known about the effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors on reproductive and endocrine function.
Results:
Our findings in a syngeneic TNBC mouse model revealed that therapeutically relevant immunotherapies targeting PD-1, LAG-3, and TIM-3 had no effect on the quality and abundance of ovarian follicles, estrus cyclicity, or hormonal homeostasis. Similarly, in a tumor-free mouse model, we found that ovarian architecture, follicle abundance, estrus cyclicity, and ovulatory efficiency remain unchanged by PD-1 blockade.
Conclusions:
Taken together, our results suggest that immunotherapy may be a promising component of fertility-sparing therapeutic regimens for patients that wish to retain ovarian and endocrine function after cancer treatment.
Lay Summary:
Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents 15%-20% of all breast cancer cases, and is more likely to affect reproductive-age women than other sub-types. Unfortunately, this disease is aggressive, and has historically been treated with chemotherapy which is known to be quite toxic to the ovary. Today, novel immunotherapies - antibody treatments, which harness a patient's own immune system - are showing promise in the treatment of TNBC, and have even become standard-of-care, though reproductive effects are currently unknown. This study uses a TNBC mouse model to elucidate ways in which immunotherapy may affect the health of the ovary, finding that standard-of-care therapy not only does not negatively impact ovarian architecture or function, but hormone levels in these treated animals are also unchanged. Taken together, our results suggest that immunotherapy may be a promising component of fertility-sparing therapeutic regimens for patients that wish to retain ovarian and endocrine function after cancer treatment.
