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Nicola Ferrari: Parity and Lactation Induce T Cell–Mediated Breast Cancer Protection
Nicola Ferrari/LinkedIn
Nov 9, 2025, 06:39

Nicola Ferrari: Parity and Lactation Induce T Cell–Mediated Breast Cancer Protection

Nicola Ferrari, Translational Science Director at AstraZeneca, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“Parity and lactation induce T cell mediated breast cancer protection

  • Parity and breastfeeding reduce the risk of breast cancer, particularly triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), yet the immunological mechanisms underlying this protection remain unclear.
  • The authors show that parity induces an accumulation of CD8+ T cells, including cells with a tissue-resident memory (TRM)-like phenotype within human normal breast tissue.
  • In murine models, pregnancy followed by lactation and involution drove the accumulation of CD8⁺ T cells in the mammary gland, coinciding with reduced tumour growth and increased intratumoural immune cell infiltration, effects that were abrogated by CD8⁺ T cell depletion.
  • Primary TNBCs from parous women exhibited greater T cell infiltration and improved clinical outcomes.
  • Together these findings, spanning preclinical models and over 1000 patient samples, provide new insight into how reproductive history shapes breast immunity.
  • These results also highlight the need for tailored prevention and treatment strategies that consider parity status and highlight the importance of systematically capturing reproductive history in future immunotherapy clinical trials.”

Title: Parity and lactation induce T cell mediated breast cancer protection

Authors: Balaji Virassamy, Franco Caramia, Peter Savas, Michael A. Harris, Jia-Wern Pan, Jianan Wang, Emmaline Brown, Megan M. R. O’Malley, Courtney T. van Geelen, Michael Hun, Thomas N. Burn, Sneha Sant, Jamieson D. Ballan, Jasmine Kay, Luis E. Lara Gonzalez, Kylie Clarke, Han Xian Aw Yeang, Rejhan Idrizi, Metta Jana, Damon J. Challice, Roberto Salgado, Heather Thorne, kConFab consortium, Cathie Poliness, Sophie Nightingale, Soo-Hwang Teo, Terence P. Speed, Jane Visvader, Paul J. Neeson, Phillip K. Darcy, Laura K. Mackay, Sherene Loi

Nicola Ferrari: Parity and Lactation Induce T Cell–Mediated Breast Cancer Protection

Stay updated on all scientific advances in the field of fertility with Fertility News.

Balaji Virassamy Cathie Poliness Courtney T. van Geelen Damon J. Challice Emmaline Brown Fertility Fertility News Franco Caramia Han Xian Aw Yeang Heather Thorne Jamieson D. Ballan Jane Visvader Jasmine Kay Jia-Wern Pan Jianan Wang kConFab consortium Kylie Clarke lactation Laura K. Mackay Luis E. Lara Gonzalez Megan M. R. O’Malley Metta Jana Michael A. Harris Michael Hun Nicola Ferrari Parity Paul J. Neeson Peter Savas Phillip K. Darcy Rejhan Idrizi Roberto Salgado Sherene Loi Sneha Sant Soo-Hwang Teo Sophie Nightingale Terence P. Speed Thomas N. Burn
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