New discovery connects antifibrotic therapy and immunotherapy in aggressive breast cancer

SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES, July 23, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- MeCo Diagnostics and long-time collaborators at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) have published new research in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The study, "Osteopontin mediates acquired resistance to hypoxia-inducing antiangiogenics and promotes anti–PD-L1 refractoriness in breast cancer models," was led by senior author Dr. Miguel Quintela-Fandino, Director of the Clinical Research Program at CNIO.

The research further elucidates the role of osteopontin, a key protein involved in mechanical conditioning—the adaptation of cancer cells to a fibrotic extracellular matrix—which the MeCo Score uniquely measures. In a 2024 clinical study by the same international collaboration, the antifibrotic drug nintedanib significantly reduced the risk of recurrence in patients with high MeCo Score tumors. In the foundational 2021 translational study, MeCo Diagnostics demonstrated that osteopontin is an effector of “mechanical memory,” an epigenetic phenomenon that locks in aggressive cancer cell behavior in early-stage disease to ultimately promote morbidity in late-stage disease.

The current study reveals that osteopontin also drives resistance to immunotherapy. Together, these findings implicate mechanical conditioning in both poor clinical outcomes and immunotherapy resistance. They point to a combined antifibrotic and immunotherapy strategy, with the MeCo Score serving as the predictive biomarker to identify the patients most likely to benefit from an integrated approach.

About MeCo Diagnostics:
MeCo Diagnostics is a precision oncology company based in San Diego, CA, that develops predictive biomarker technology to leverage antifibrotic therapy for solid tumors, enabling a fundamentally new modality of cancer treatment.
https://mecodiagnostics.com/

Press contact:
Keith Grevenitz
keith@mecodiagnostics.com

Adam Watson
MeCo Diagnostics
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