# PD-L1 and Ethanol-enhanced Mammary Tumorigenesis

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY · 2020 · $181,688

## Abstract

Alcohol consumption is a well-known risk factor for human cancer, including female breast cancer. The
biological and epidemiological evidence indicates that alcohol consumption is causally and dose-dependently
associated with breast cancer. However, the mechanism underlying ethanol-promoted mammary
carcinogenesis is unclear. Cancer is a systemic disease. The immune system monitors the host body
recognizing and reacting against newly arising mutated/tumor cells to stop/control tumor formation. A process
termed “immunoediting” is initiates when the immune system encounters mutated/tumor cells and may result in
one of the three outcomes: elimination, equilibrium or escape of tumor cells from immune control. Hence,
tumor formation indicates a compromise of host immunosurveillance. T cells, particularly cytotoxic T cells,
represent a major component of cell-mediated anti-tumor immunity. One of the mechanisms modulating T cell
antitumor effector function involves the activation/inhibition receptors on a T cell membrane. Inhibition of T cell
antitumor function through the activation of immune checkpoint pathways, such as PD-L1/PD-1 pathway, has
been shown to promote tumor cell immune escape and tumorigenesis. In addition, previous reports indicate
that the aberrant activation of STAT3 may up-regulate PD-L1 in many human tumors. The proposed study will
test our hypothesis that ethanol promotes mammary tumorigenesis through STAT3/PD-L1/PD-1-mediated
inhibition of T cell antitumor function.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9852945
- **Project number:** 5R21AA026787-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
- **Principal Investigator:** Gang Chen
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $181,688
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-02-01 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9852945

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9852945, PD-L1 and Ethanol-enhanced Mammary Tumorigenesis (5R21AA026787-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9852945. Licensed CC0.

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