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Age and sex shape cancer immunity, mouse experiments and human data suggest

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Age and sex shape cancer immunity, mouse experiments and human data suggest

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A new study published in Nature Aging combines mouse experiments and human data sets to explore how biological sex and aging shape cancer immunity, with implications for immunotherapy responses. Lutz Menzel, Ph.D., formerly of the Department of Radiation Oncology within the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute, is the lead author, and Tim Padera, Ph.D., of the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute, is the senior author. The paper is titled "Lymph node contraction links sex-biased naive CD8 T cell decline to compromised antigen recognition during middle age."

Aging is accompanied by a gradual decline in immune function, reducing our ability to mount effective responses against infections and cancer. This presents a particular challenge in the context of cancer immunotherapy, as treatments such as immune checkpoint blockade rely on the immune system's ability to recognize and respond to tumor antigens.

To date, we still do not fully understand why this capacity declines with age. There are also substantial differences between biological women and men in cancer incidence, immunity and responses to immunotherapy, but how biological sex interacts with immune aging remains poorly understood. Gaining a better understanding of how age and biological sex shape anticancer immunity could ultimately enable more individualized treatment decisions that account for the state of a patient's immune system.

Why does anticancer immunity change with age, and why does it differ between biological women and men?


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