Recent advances in immunotherapy have revolutionized the treatment of breast and gynecological cancers, and current strategies have targeted different phases in the cancer immunity cycle. These include agents that can optimize release of tumor antigens as well as improve antigen presentation. Therapeutic strategies that utilize adoptive transfer/CAR-T cell or T-cell engager therapy can increase effector T cell frequencies. Other strategies promote improved immune cell priming by targeting co-stimulatory molecules and pattern recognition receptors on innate immune cells and activation by inhibiting immune checkpoints, such as with anti-CTLA4, -PD-1, -LAG3 and -TIGIT. Cytokines, chemokines, and anti-angiogenic therapeutic strategies have been employed to modulate the tumor microenvironment.

It has been demonstrated that combination therapies are more clinically efficacious than single agents alone. This Research Topic aims to present a collection of articles that showcase rationale combinations of immune therapies (checkpoint inhibitors, antibodies, vaccines) with other immune or standard therapies (chemotherapy, radiation, molecularly targeted therapies) for the treatment or prevention of breast or gynecological cancers, such as ovarian cancer and cervical cancer. Previous promising combinations have not necessarily translated from pre-clinical models to human clinical trials; therefore, contributing authors are expected to employ appropriate animal models for validation of the therapeutic efficacy.

We are interested in Original Research articles focusing on, but not limited to, the following areas:
• Effects of combination strategies on the tumor microenvironment in breast or gynecological cancers
• Systematic demonstration on optimal sequencing of combination therapy in breast or gynecological cancers
• Identification of biomarkers that could predict which combinations may be beneficial

Manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by robust and relevant validation (clinical cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this topic. Case Reports will also not be accepted.

(Dr. Denise Cecil holds patents at the University of Washington. Dr. John Liao has received grant funding from Merck, AstraZeneca, Precigen, ArsenalBio, Volastra, Nurix, and Aminex Therapeutics through the University of Washington, and he serves as a consultant for Verismo Therapeutics. The other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.)

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Combination Immune Therapies for the Treatment or Prevention of Breast or Gynecological Cancers