Takahiro Watanabe1, Akira I Hida2,3, Natsuko Inoue4, Michiko Imamura4, Yukie Fujimoto4, Kouhei Akazawa5, Seiichi Hirota1, Yasuo Miyoshi6. 1. Department of Surgical Pathology, Hyogo College of Medicine, 1-1 Mukogawa-cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan. 2. Department of Pathology, Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 8-35-1 Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima, 890-8544, Japan. 3. Department of Pathology, Matsuyama Red Cross Hospital, 1 Bunkyo, Matsuyama, Ehime, 790-8524, Japan. 4. Division of Breast and Endocrine, Department of Surgery, Hyogo College of Medicine, 1-1 Mukogawa-cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan. 5. Department of Medical Informatics, Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital, Chuo-ku, Niigata, Japan. 6. Division of Breast and Endocrine, Department of Surgery, Hyogo College of Medicine, 1-1 Mukogawa-cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan. ymiyoshi@hyo-med.ac.jp.
Abstract
PURPOSE: The therapeutic effect of systemic treatment for breast cancer (BC) generally depends on its intrinsic subtypes. In addition, tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are considered to be an independent factor for tumor shrinkage and disease prognosis. High TILs at baseline or after primary systemic chemotherapy are reported to be associated with better survival in triple-negative or human epithelial growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive BCs. However, the prognostic value of TILs in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive and HER2-negative (ER+/HER2-) BC is still controversial. METHODS: We assessed TIL score (low, intermediate, and high) before and after primary systemic chemotherapy in every subtype of BC, and compared the clinical outcomes. Biopsy specimens of 47 triple-negative, 58 HER2+ and 91 ER+/HER2- BCs were used to assess TILs before treatment. To assess TILs after treatment, we examined residual invasive carcinoma in surgically resected samples of 28 triple-negative, 30 HER2+ and 80 ER+/HER2- BCs. RESULTS: A high TIL score in triple-negative BC before treatment resulted in a significantly higher proportion of pathological complete response (pCR). In contrast, ER+/HER2- BC exhibited fewer instances of pCR than other subtypes. Although not statistically significant, ER+/HER2- cases with a high TIL score also tended to achieve pCR (p = 0.088). Moreover, we revealed that low TIL BCs after chemotherapy, but not at baseline, had significantly better relapse-free survival in ER+/HER2- BC (p = 0.034). CONCLUSION: Pathological examination of TILs after treatment may be a surrogate marker for prognosis in ER+/HER2- BC.
PURPOSE: The therapeutic effect of systemic treatment for breast cancer (BC) generally depends on its intrinsic subtypes. In addition, tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are considered to be an independent factor for tumor shrinkage and disease prognosis. High TILs at baseline or after primary systemic chemotherapy are reported to be associated with better survival in triple-negative or human epithelial growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive BCs. However, the prognostic value of TILs in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive and HER2-negative (ER+/HER2-) BC is still controversial. METHODS: We assessed TIL score (low, intermediate, and high) before and after primary systemic chemotherapy in every subtype of BC, and compared the clinical outcomes. Biopsy specimens of 47 triple-negative, 58 HER2+ and 91 ER+/HER2- BCs were used to assess TILs before treatment. To assess TILs after treatment, we examined residual invasive carcinoma in surgically resected samples of 28 triple-negative, 30 HER2+ and 80 ER+/HER2- BCs. RESULTS: A high TIL score in triple-negative BC before treatment resulted in a significantly higher proportion of pathological complete response (pCR). In contrast, ER+/HER2- BC exhibited fewer instances of pCR than other subtypes. Although not statistically significant, ER+/HER2- cases with a high TIL score also tended to achieve pCR (p = 0.088). Moreover, we revealed that low TIL BCs after chemotherapy, but not at baseline, had significantly better relapse-free survival in ER+/HER2- BC (p = 0.034). CONCLUSION: Pathological examination of TILs after treatment may be a surrogate marker for prognosis in ER+/HER2- BC.
Authors: Andrea Walens; Linnea T Olsson; Xiaohua Gao; Alina M Hamilton; Erin L Kirk; Stephanie M Cohen; Bentley R Midkiff; Yongjuan Xia; Mark E Sherman; Nana Nikolaishvili-Feinberg; Jonathan S Serody; Katherine A Hoadley; Melissa A Troester; Benjamin C Calhoun Journal: Lab Invest Date: 2021-02-23 Impact factor: 5.662
Authors: Jing Zhang; Mustapha Abubakar; Pei Yuan; Hela Koka; Lei Guo; Xin Li; Xiaohong R Yang; Jianming Ying; Ning Lyu Journal: Am J Transl Res Date: 2021-11-15 Impact factor: 4.060
Authors: Helga Bergholtz; Jodi M Carter; Alessandra Cesano; Maggie Chon U Cheang; Sarah E Church; Prajan Divakar; Christopher A Fuhrman; Shom Goel; Jingjing Gong; Jennifer L Guerriero; Margaret L Hoang; E Shelley Hwang; Hellen Kuasne; Jinho Lee; Yan Liang; Elizabeth A Mittendorf; Jessica Perez; Aleix Prat; Lajos Pusztai; Jason W Reeves; Yasser Riazalhosseini; Jennifer K Richer; Özgür Sahin; Hiromi Sato; Ilana Schlam; Therese Sørlie; Daniel G Stover; Sandra M Swain; Alexander Swarbrick; E Aubrey Thompson; Sara M Tolaney; Sarah E Warren Journal: Cancers (Basel) Date: 2021-09-04 Impact factor: 6.639