Multilayered mechanisms driving sexual dimorphism in antitumor immunity
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Updated: Oct 31, 2026

Tailoring In Vivo Cytotoxicity Assays to Study Immunodominance in Tumor-specific CD8+ T Cell Responses
Published on: May 6, 2019
Maryam Faisal1, Nourhan Abdelfattah2, Kyuson Yun3
1Department of Neurology, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA.
Abstract:
Biological sex is a major variable associated with cancer incidence and treatment response, but how it affects antitumor immunity is not well understood. This review highlights the multilayered mechanisms driving sex differences in antitumor immunity. At the molecular level, tumor suppressor and oncogene alterations can be sex-biased and lead to the activation of noncanonical, immune-altering pathways. At the tissue level, resident immune niches and the commensal microbiome modulate sex-biased inflammation. Finally, at the organismal level, sex hormones and chromosomes, which act systemically across tissues, drive divergent inflammatory responses. Together, these mechanisms drive sex-specific antitumor responses, including differences in immunotherapy efficacy and toxicity. Further elucidating these mechanisms will advance precision oncology through sex-stratified treatment strategies and improve preclinical and clinical study designs.
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