June 16th 2025: Publication in Nature Communications Medicine
We are pleased to share that our latest biomarker study in early breast cancer, entitled “High tumor expression of CTLA4 identifies lymph node-negative basal-like breast cancer patients with excellent prognosis,” has been published in Communications Medicine.
Most breast cancer patients are cured after initial surgery and radiotherapy. However, basal-like breast cancer, which accounts for about 15% of cases, carries a high risk of early recurrence and death. Nearly all patients with basal-like disease therefore receive additional treatment before and after surgery, including chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Although this treatment reduces the risk of recurrence, it causes considerable short and long-term side effects. In the current study, we found that patients whose tumors express high levels of the immune-related gene CTLA4 have an excellent prognosis, likely because the immune system aids in fighting the cancer. Our findings suggest that additional treatments may safely be reduced or omitted for some patients, which would significantly improve the quality of life of cancer survivors.
The first author of this paper, our highly appreciated colleague, group member and friend Andreas Hagen Røssevold tragically died in an accident May 2025.
