In syngeneic TP53-mutant HNSCC mouse models, the mTOR inhibitor everolimus reprogrammed the immune-cold tumor microenvironment: it increased CD8+ T cell and dendritic cell infiltration, reduced Tregs and HIF-1α/VEGFA-driven MDSC recruitment, boosted TNF-α/CXCL10 chemokine signaling, and reduced PD-1/PD-L1 expression — restoring T-cell cytotoxic competence and suppressing tumor growth.
Tier C because it is an animal intervention or observation study measuring an organismal outcome (model: Syngeneic mouse models of TP53-mutant HNSCC); tier describes study design, not quality -- animal evidence can be rigorous and still sit below direct human data.
| Evidence tier | C Animal in vivo |
| Study type | 4 - Animal Study |
| Model system | Syngeneic mouse models of TP53-mutant HNSCC |
| Journal | Neoplasia |
| Year | 2026 |
| Peer reviewed | Yes |
| Record last updated | 2026-08-22 |
| Source | DOI 10.1016/j.neo.2026.101350 · PMID 42570420 |
| Intervention | Everolimus (mTOR inhibitor) |
| Target | mTOR / PI3K-AKT-mTOR axis; downstream HIF-1α/VEGFA, PD-1/PD-L1 |
| Model | Mouse (syngeneic TP53-mutant HNSCC models) |
| Effect | Reprograms immune-cold tumor microenvironment to an immune-active state; suppresses tumor growth |
Barton, O. (2026). mTOR inhibition augments antitumor immune effector response by reprogramming the TP53-mutant, immune-cold HNSCC tumor microenvironment — evidence-graded record NAT2026. In Oliver's mTOR Atlas. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/NAT2026/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963
@misc{atlas_NAT2026,
author = {Barton, Oliver},
title = {{mTOR inhibition augments antitumor immune effector response by reprogramming the TP53-mutant, immune-cold HNSCC tumor microenvironment} --- evidence-graded record NAT2026},
howpublished = {Oliver's mTOR Atlas},
year = {2026},
url = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/NAT2026/},
note = {Dataset DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}