{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,27]],"date-time":"2026-09-27T11:23:05Z","timestamp":1790508185185,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,17]],"date-time":"2024-11-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1731801600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":16,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Virginia Kaufman Foundation Pain Research Challenge Award","award":["N\/A"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["N\/A"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000072","name":"NIH NIDCR","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["R01DE033473"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R01DE033473"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000072","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["J Immunother Cancer"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,23]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,11]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are becoming the standard of care for recurrent and metastatic cancer. Opioids, the primary treatment for cancer-related pain, are immunosuppressive raising concerns about their potential to interfere with the efficacy of ICIs. We hypothesize that exogenous opioids given for analgesia suppress antitumor immunity via T cell-mediated mu opioid receptor 1 (OPRM1) signaling.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In silico bioinformatics were used to assess OPRM1 receptor expression on tumor-infiltrating immune cells in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and across different cancer types. A syngeneic orthotopic mouse model of oral squamous cell carcinoma was used to study the impact of morphine and OPRM1 antagonism on tumor-infiltrating immune cells, tumor growth and antitumor efficacy of anti-Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) monoclonal antibody treatment.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In patients with HNSCC, OPRM1 expression was most abundant in CD8+ T cells, particularly in patients who had not been prescribed opioids prior to resection and exhibited increased expression of exhaustion markers. Exogenous morphine treatment in tumor-bearing mice reduced CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell infiltration and subsequently anti-PD1 ICI efficacy. Peripherally acting mu opioid receptor antagonism, when administered in the adjunctive setting, was able to block morphine-induced immunosuppression and recover the antitumor efficacy of anti-PD1.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These findings suggest that morphine acts via a peripheral OPRM1-mediated mechanism to suppress CD8+ T cells, thereby fostering a pro-tumor-impaired immune response. Importantly, peripherally-restricted OPRM1 antagonism can effectively block this morphine-induced immunosuppression while still allowing for centrally-mediated analgesia, indicating a potential therapeutic strategy for mitigating the adverse effects of opioid pain relief in cancer treatment.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/jitc-2024-009962","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,17]],"date-time":"2024-11-17T22:05:33Z","timestamp":1731881133000},"page":"e009962","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":25,"title":["Morphine treatment restricts response to immunotherapy in oral squamous cell carcinoma"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Lisa A","family":"McIlvried","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 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