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Flecher MC, Balabram D, Salles YA, Souza FR, Estrela-Lima A, Nakagaki KYR, Cassali GD. Evaluation of immunophenotype and inflammation in canine mammary neoplasms with solid arrangement. J Comp Pathol 2024; 213:1-9. [PMID: 39018987 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcpa.2024.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2024] [Revised: 05/01/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 07/19/2024]
Abstract
Morphological and immunohistochemical studies of solid arrangement canine mammary carcinomas have shown that the different histological types may be characterized by proliferation of epithelial and/or myoepithelial cells. However, little is known about immunophenotypes and the importance of inflammation as prognostic factors in these neoplasms. The objective of the present study was to characterize the immunophenotype and degree of inflammation in the solid type of canine mammary neoplasm and to investigate their association with metastasis, Ki-67 index, tumour size, necrosis and survival. Sixty-five carcinomas with solid pattern, basaloid carcinomas, solid papillary carcinomas, malignant adenomyoepitheliomas (MAMEs) or malignant myoepitheliomas (MMEs) were investigated. Luminal A, luminal B HER2 negative and HER2 positive, HER2 overexpressed and triple negative immunophenotypes were immunolabelled as were Ki-67 protein and cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2). Histological peritumoural and intratumoural inflammatory infiltrates were graded (distribution × intensity) and the presence of necrosis identified. We found a statistical difference between histological types and immunophenotypes, with MME and MAME having a higher occurrence of luminal A, whereas most neoplasms had the luminal B HER-negative immunophenotype. There was no correlation between immunophenotype and degree of peri- and intratumoural inflammation, nodal metastasis, necrosis or tumour size. An increased degree of peri- and intratumoural inflammation was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis, and more severe intratumoural inflammation was associated with the presence of tumour necrosis. Tumour size, Ki-67 index and Cox-2 score were not associated with inflammation in either peri- or intratumoural regions. No difference was observed in survival in relation to immunophenotype or degree of inflammation, but the Cox regression model revealed that nodal metastasis influenced the risk of death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mayra C Flecher
- Department of General Pathology/Laboratory of Comparative Pathology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Av. Pres. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 31270-091, Brazil; Department of Veterinary Pathology, Universidade Vila Velha, Vila Velha, Espirito Santo, 29101-420, Brazil
| | - Débora Balabram
- Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Av. Pres. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 31270-091, Brazil
| | - Yasmin A Salles
- Department of Veterinary Pathology, Universidade Vila Velha, Vila Velha, Espirito Santo, 29101-420, Brazil
| | - Fernanda R Souza
- Department of General Pathology/Laboratory of Comparative Pathology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Av. Pres. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 31270-091, Brazil
| | - Alessandra Estrela-Lima
- Department of Anatomy, Pathology and Veterinary Clinics, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, 401170-110, Brazil
| | - Karen Y R Nakagaki
- Department of General Pathology/Laboratory of Comparative Pathology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Av. Pres. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 31270-091, Brazil
| | - Geovanni D Cassali
- Department of General Pathology/Laboratory of Comparative Pathology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Av. Pres. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 31270-091, Brazil.
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2
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Moraru L, Mitranovici MI, Moraru R, Voidazan S, Munteanu M, Georgescu R, Costachescu D, Turdean SG. Combining Molecular and Traditional Prognostic Factors: A Holistic Approach to Breast Cancer Prognostication. Diagnostics (Basel) 2024; 14:1449. [PMID: 39001339 PMCID: PMC11241232 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics14131449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2024] [Revised: 06/20/2024] [Accepted: 07/05/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease with various morphologies and molecular features, and it is the second leading cause of cancer death in women in developed countries. According to the literature, we currently lack both prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets. The most important prognostic factors are disease stage and Nottingham grade. We conducted a retrospective analysis involving 273 patients with BC who underwent neoadjuvant therapy before proceeding to curative surgical treatment between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2023. Pathological procedures were conducted at the Department of Pathology, Emergency County Hospital of Targu Mureș, Romania. A statistical analysis was performed. Regarding the relationship between Nottingham grade and Ki67, grade I was associated with a Ki67 of less than 14. The relationship between tumor grade and luminal was similar (p = 0.0001): Grade I was associated with luminal A. Regarding TNM stage, it was statistically significantly correlated with TILs (p = 0.01) and RCB (p = 0.0001). Stages III and IV were associated with a high RCB and poor prognosis. Regarding the prognostic value, Nottingham grade 3 and TNM stages III and IV were correlated with low overall survival and disease-free survival, with poor prognosis, and, among the molecular variables, RCB played the most important prognostic role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liviu Moraru
- Department of Anatomy, "George Emil Palade" University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania
| | - Melinda Ildiko Mitranovici
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Emergency County Hospital Hunedoara, 14 Victoriei Street, 331057 Hunedoara, Romania
| | - Raluca Moraru
- Faculty of Medicine, "George Emil Palade" University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania
| | - Septimiu Voidazan
- Department of Epidemiology, "George Emil Palade" University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania
| | - Mihai Munteanu
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Technical University, George Baritiu Street, 400394 Cluj Napoca, Romania
| | - Rares Georgescu
- Department of Surgery, "George Emil Palade" University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania
| | - Dan Costachescu
- Department of Orthopedisc-Traumatology, Urology, Radiology and Medical Imaging, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Victor Babes, Square Eftimie Murgu, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
| | - Sabin Gligore Turdean
- Department of Pathology, County Clinical Hospital of Targu Mures, 540072 Targu Mures, Romania
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Ciarka A, Piątek M, Pęksa R, Kunc M, Senkus E. Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs) in Breast Cancer: Prognostic and Predictive Significance across Molecular Subtypes. Biomedicines 2024; 12:763. [PMID: 38672117 PMCID: PMC11048219 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12040763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2024] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are pivotal in the immune response against breast cancer (BC), with their prognostic and predictive significance varying across BC subtypes. In triple-negative BC (TNBC), higher TIL levels correlate with improved prognosis and treatment response, guiding therapeutic strategies and potentially offering avenues for treatment de-escalation. In metastatic TNBC, TILs identify patients with enhanced immunotherapy response. HER2+ BC, similar to TNBC, exhibits positive correlations between TILs and treatment response, especially in neoadjuvant settings. Luminal BC generally has low TILs, with limited prognostic impact. Single hormone receptor-positive BCs show distinct TIL associations, emphasizing subtype-specific considerations. TILs in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) display ambiguous prognostic significance, necessitating further investigation. Standardizing TIL assessment methods is crucial for unlocking their full potential as biomarkers, guiding treatment decisions, and enhancing patient care in BC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Ciarka
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdańsk, M. Skłodowskiej-Curie 3a, 80-214 Gdańsk, Poland (M.K.)
| | - Michał Piątek
- Department of Oncology, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Opole, pl. Kopernika 11a, 45-040 Opole, Poland
| | - Rafał Pęksa
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdańsk, M. Skłodowskiej-Curie 3a, 80-214 Gdańsk, Poland (M.K.)
| | - Michał Kunc
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdańsk, M. Skłodowskiej-Curie 3a, 80-214 Gdańsk, Poland (M.K.)
| | - Elżbieta Senkus
- Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Medical University of Gdańsk, M. Skłodowskiej-Curie 3a, 80-214 Gdansk, Poland
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Baez-Navarro X, van den Ende NS, Nguyen AH, Sinke R, Westenend P, van Brakel JB, Stobbe C, Westerga J, van Deurzen CHM. HER2-low and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in triple-negative breast cancer: Are they connected? Breast Cancer Res 2024; 26:41. [PMID: 38468323 PMCID: PMC10926638 DOI: 10.1186/s13058-024-01783-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Most patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) are not candidates for targeted therapy, leaving chemotherapy as the primary treatment option. Recently, immunotherapy has demonstrated promising results in TNBC, due to its immunogenicity. In addition, a novel antibody-drug conjugate, namely, trastuzumab-deruxtecan, has shown effectiveness in TNBC patients with low-HER2 expression (HER2-low). These novel treatment options raise the question about the potential association between the density of stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (sTILs) and the level of HER2 expression. We aimed to evaluate the association between the level of HER2 expression (HER2-low versus HER2-0) and density of sTILs in TNBC patients, and how they impact the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). This was a retrospective multicenter study including all TNBC patients diagnosed between 2018 and 2022. Central pathology review included sTILs percentages and level of HER2 expression. Tumors were reclassified as either HER2-0 (HER2 IHC 0) or HER2-low (IHC 1 + or 2 + with negative reflex test). Various clinicopathologic characteristics, including sTILs density, and response to NAC were compared between HER2-0 and HER2-low cases. In total, 753 TNBC patients were included in this study, of which 292 patients received NAC. Interobserver agreement between the original pathology report and central review was moderate (77% had the same IHC status after reclassification in either HER2-0 or HER2-low; k = 0.45). HER2-low TNBC represented about one third (36%) of the tumors. No significant difference in sTILs density or complete pathologic response rate was found between HER2-0 and HER2-low cases (p = 0.476 and p = 0.339, respectively). The density of sTILs (≥ 10% sTILs vs. < 10%) was independently associated with achieving a pCR (p = 0.011). In conclusion, no significant association was found between HER2-low status and density of sTILs nor response to NAC. Nonetheless, sTILs could be an independent biomarker for predicting NAC response in TNBC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ximena Baez-Navarro
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3015 GD, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Nadine S van den Ende
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3015 GD, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Anh H Nguyen
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3015 GD, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Pathology, HMC, The Hague, The Netherlands
| | - Renata Sinke
- Department of Pathology, Pathan B.V., Franciscus Gasthuis & Vlietland, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Pieter Westenend
- Laboratory of Pathology, PAL Dordrecht, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
| | | | - Claudia Stobbe
- Department of Pathology, Pathan B.V., Franciscus Gasthuis & Vlietland, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Johan Westerga
- Department of Pathology, Pathan B.V., Franciscus Gasthuis & Vlietland, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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Khoury T, Mendicino L, Payne Ondracek R, Yao S, Davis W, Omilian AR, Kwan ML, Roh JM, D’Addario L, Valice E, Fernandez D, Ergas IJ, Chua AV, Ambrosone CB, Kushi LH. Clinical, Epidemiologic, and Pathologic Significance of ERBB2-Low Expression in Breast Cancer. JAMA Netw Open 2024; 7:e243345. [PMID: 38517439 PMCID: PMC10960203 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.3345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Importance It is unclear whether breast cancer (BC) with low ERBB2 expression (ERBB2-low) is a distinct clinical, pathological, and epidemiological entity from BC classified as no ERBB2 expression (ERBB2-negative). Objective To evaluate the clinical, pathological, and epidemiologic features of BC with ERBB2-low expression compared with ERBB2-negative BC in a large population study. Design, Setting, and Participants This cohort study was conducted as part of the Pathways Study, a prospective, racially and ethnically diverse cohort study of women with BC enrolled between 2006 and 2013 in Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC). The hematoxylin and eosin slides underwent centralized pathology review, including the percentage of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). Breast biomarker results were extracted from pathology reports, and women were included if they had a documented ERBB2 value that was not classified ERBB2-positive. Data were analyzed from February 2023 through January 2024. Exposure Clinical and tumor characteristics associated with BC and ERBB2-low or ERBB2-negative status. Main Outcome and Measures ERBB2-low was defined as immunohistochemistry score of 1+ or 2+ (negative by in situ hybridization); ERBB2-negative was defined as immunohistochemistry score of 0+. Other data were collected by self-report or extraction from electronic health records, including BC risk factors, tumor characteristics, treatment modality, and survival outcomes, with recurrence-free survival (RFS) as the primary outcome and overall survival (OS) and BC-specific mortality (BCSM) as secondary outcomes. The clinical, pathological, and epidemiological variables were compared between ERBB2-low and ERBB2-negative BC. Results Of 2200 eligible patients (all female; with mean [SD] age, 60.4 [11.9] years), 1295 (57.2%) had tumors that were ERBB2-low. Hormone receptors were positive in 1956 patients (88.9%). The sample included 291 Asian patients (13.2%), 166 Black patients (7.5%), 253 Hispanic patients (11.5%), 1439 White patients (65.4%), and 51 patients (2.3%) who identified as other race or ethnicity (eg, American Indian or Alaska Native and Pacific Islander). Within the hormone receptor-negative group, patients whose tumors had ERBB2-low staining, compared with those with ERBB2-negative tumors, had better OS (hazard ratio [HR], 0.54; 95% CI, 0.33-0.91; P = .02), RFS (HR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.30-0.95; P = .03), and BCSM (HR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.22-0.84; P = .01). In multivariable survival analysis stratified by hormone receptor status and adjusted for key covariates, patients with ERBB2-low and hormone receptor-negative tumors had lower overall mortality (HR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.27-0.83; P = .009), RFS (HR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.24-0.86; P = .02), and BCSM (subdistribution HR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.10-0.46; P < .001) compared with patients with ERBB2-negative and hormone receptor-negative tumors. Within the hormone receptor-negative subtype, patients with ERBB2-low and high TILs tumors had better survival across all 3 outcomes compared with patients with ERBB2-negative and low TILs tumors. Additionally, patients with ERBB2-low and low TILs tumors had better BCSM (subdistribution HR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.14-0.92; P = .03). Conclusions and Relevance These findings suggest that there were clinical, pathological, and epidemiological differences between ERBB2-low and ERBB2-negative BC, raising the possibility that ERBB2-low might be a unique biologic entity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thaer Khoury
- Department of Pathology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York
| | - Lucas Mendicino
- Department of Cancer Prevention and Control, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York
| | - Rochelle Payne Ondracek
- Department of Cancer Prevention and Control, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York
| | - Song Yao
- Department of Cancer Prevention and Control, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York
| | - Warren Davis
- Department of Cancer Prevention and Control, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York
| | - Angela R. Omilian
- Department of Cancer Prevention and Control, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York
| | - Marilyn L. Kwan
- Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland
| | - Janise M. Roh
- Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland
| | - Lia D’Addario
- Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland
| | - Emily Valice
- Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland
| | - Daniel Fernandez
- Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland
| | - Isaac J. Ergas
- Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland
| | - Alfredo V. Chua
- Department of Cancer Prevention and Control, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York
| | - Christine B. Ambrosone
- Department of Cancer Prevention and Control, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York
| | - Lawrence H. Kushi
- Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland
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Sánchez D, Cesarman-Maus G, Romero L, Sánchez-Verin R, Vail D, Guadarrama M, Pelayo R, Sarmiento-Silva RE, Lizano M. The NDV-MLS as an Immunotherapeutic Strategy for Breast Cancer: Proof of Concept in Female Companion Dogs with Spontaneous Mammary Cancer. Viruses 2024; 16:372. [PMID: 38543739 PMCID: PMC10974497 DOI: 10.3390/v16030372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2024] [Revised: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 02/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024] Open
Abstract
The absence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes negatively impacts the response to chemotherapy and prognosis in all subtypes of breast cancer. Therapies that stimulate a proinflammatory environment may help improve the response to standard treatments and also to immunotherapies such as checkpoint inhibitors. Newcastle disease virus (NDV) shows oncolytic activity, as well as immune modulating potential, in the treatment of breast cancer in vitro and in vivo; however, its potential to enhance tumor-infiltrating immune cells in breast cancer has yet to be evaluated. Since spontaneous canine mammary tumors represent a translational model of human breast cancer, we conducted this proof-of-concept study, which could provide a rationale for further investigating NDV-MLS as immunotherapy for mammary cancer. Six female companion dogs with spontaneous mammary cancer received a single intravenous and intratumoral injection of oncolytic NDV-MLS. Immune cell infiltrates were evaluated by histology and immunohistochemistry in the stromal, intratumoral, and peritumoral compartments on day 6 after viral administration. Increasing numbers of immune cells were documented post-viral treatment, mainly in the peritumoral compartment, where plasma cells and CD3+ and CD3-/CD79- lymphocytes predominated. Viral administration was well tolerated, with no significant adverse events. These findings support additional research on the use of NDV-MLS immunotherapy for mammary cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Sánchez
- Unidad de Investigación Biomédica en Cáncer, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, Mexico City 14080, Mexico
- Departamento de Medicina Genómica y Toxicología Ambiental, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
- NorthStar VETS, Veterinary Emergency Trauma & Specialty Centers, Robbinsville, NJ 08691, USA
| | - Gabriela Cesarman-Maus
- Departamento de Hematología, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, Mexico City 14080, Mexico;
| | - Laura Romero
- Departamento de Patología, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico; (L.R.); (M.G.)
| | | | - David Vail
- Department of Medical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA;
| | - Marina Guadarrama
- Departamento de Patología, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico; (L.R.); (M.G.)
| | - Rosana Pelayo
- Unidad de Educación e Investigación, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City 06720, Mexico;
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica de Oriente, CIBIOR, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Puebla 06720, Mexico
| | - Rosa Elena Sarmiento-Silva
- Departamento de Microbiología e Inmunología, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico;
| | - Marcela Lizano
- Unidad de Investigación Biomédica en Cáncer, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, Mexico City 14080, Mexico
- Departamento de Medicina Genómica y Toxicología Ambiental, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
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Dimitrakopoulos FI, Goussia A, Koliou GA, Dadouli K, Batistatou A, Kourea HP, Bobos M, Arapantoni-Dadioti P, Tzaida O, Koletsa T, Chrisafi S, Sotiropoulou M, Papoudou-Bai A, Nicolaou I, Charchanti A, Mauri D, Aravantinos G, Binas I, Res E, Psyrri A, Pectasides D, Bafaloukos D, Koumarianou A, Bompolaki I, Rigakos G, Karanikiotis C, Koutras A, Zagouri F, Gogas H, Fountzilas G. Ten-year clinical outcome, toxicity and compliance of dose-dense sequential adjuvant administration of cyclophosphamide & epirubicin followed by docetaxel in patients with early breast cancer: A hellenic cooperative oncology group observational study (HE 10/10) with concurrent investigation of significance of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes. Breast 2024; 73:103668. [PMID: 38176305 PMCID: PMC10791571 DOI: 10.1016/j.breast.2023.103668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dose-dense sequential (dds) chemotherapy has changed the clinical outcome of patients with early breast cancer (BC). To investigate the impact of dose intensity (DI) in the adjuvant setting of BC, this observational trial (HE 10/10) was conducted assessing the long-term survival outcome, safety and toxicity of a currently widely used chemotherapeutic regimen. In addition, the prognostic significance of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and infiltrating CD8+ lymphocytes were also evaluated in the same cohort. PATIENTS AND METHODS Totally, 1054 patients were prospectively enrolled in the current study with 1024 patients being eligible, while adequate tissue was available for 596 of them. TILs, CD8+ lymphocytes in intratumoral areas in contact with malignant cells (iCD8), CD8+ lymphocytes in tumor stroma (sCD8) as well as the total number of CD8+ lymphocytes within the tumor area (total CD8) were assessed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS Within a median follow-up of 125.18 months, a total of 200 disease-free survival (DFS) events (19.5%) were reported. Importantly, the 10-year DFS and OS rates were 78.4% (95% CI 75.0-81.5) and 81.7% (95% CI 79.0-84.1), respectively. Interestingly, higher CD8+ T cells as well as TILs in the tumor microenvironment were associated with an improved long-term survival outcome. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, this study confirms the significance of dds adjuvant chemotherapeutic regimen in terms of long-term survival outcome, safety and toxicity as well as the prognostic significance of TILs and infiltrating CD8+ lymphocytes in BC patients with early-stage disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Foteinos-Ioannis Dimitrakopoulos
- Division of Oncology, University Hospital of Patras "Panagia the Help", University of Patras, Patras, Greece; Molecular Oncology Laboratory, Department of Medicine, University of Patras, Patras, Greece.
| | - Anna Goussia
- Department of Pathology, Ioannina University Hospital, Ioannina, Greece; Department of Pathology, German Oncology Center, Limassol, Cyprus
| | | | - Katerina Dadouli
- Laboratory of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
| | - Anna Batistatou
- Department of Pathology, Ioannina University Hospital, Ioannina, Greece
| | - Helen P Kourea
- Department of Pathology, University Hospital of Patras, Rion, Greece
| | - Mattheos Bobos
- Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Hellenic Foundation for Cancer Research/Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Health Sciences, International Hellenic University, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - Olympia Tzaida
- Department of Pathology, Metaxas Cancer Hospital, Piraeus, Greece
| | - Triantafyllia Koletsa
- Department of Pathology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Sofia Chrisafi
- Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Hellenic Foundation for Cancer Research/Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | | | - Irene Nicolaou
- Department of Histopathology, Agii Anargiri Hospital, Athens, Greece
| | - Antonia Charchanti
- Department of Anatomy-Histology-Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
| | - Davide Mauri
- Department of Medical Oncology, Medical School, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
| | - Gerasimos Aravantinos
- Second Department of Medical Oncology, Agii Anargiri Cancer Hospital, Athens, Greece
| | - Ioannis Binas
- Second Department of Medical Oncology, Metropolitan Hospital, Piraeus, Greece
| | - Eleni Res
- Third Department of Medical Oncology, Agii Anargiri Cancer Hospital, Athens, Greece
| | - Amanda Psyrri
- Section of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Attikon University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens School of Medicine, Athens, Greece
| | - Dimitrios Pectasides
- Oncology Section, Second Department of Internal Medicine, Hippokratio Hospital, Athens, Greece
| | | | - Anna Koumarianou
- Hematology-Oncology Unit, Fourth Department of Internal Medicine, Attikon University Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
| | | | - Georgios Rigakos
- Third Department of Medical Oncology, Hygeia Hospital, Athens, Greece
| | | | - Angelos Koutras
- Division of Oncology, University Hospital of Patras "Panagia the Help", University of Patras, Patras, Greece
| | - Flora Zagouri
- Department of Clinical Therapeutics, Alexandra Hospital, National Andistrian U Kapodniversity of Athens School of Medicine, Athens, Greece
| | - Helen Gogas
- First Department of Medicine, Laiko General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens School of Medicine, Athens, Greece
| | - George Fountzilas
- Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Hellenic Foundation for Cancer Research/Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; Department of Medical Oncology, German Oncology Center, Limassol, Cyprus
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8
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Abdullaeva SR, Semiglazova TY, Artemyeva AS, Zagoruiko VA, Kudriashova TI, Filatova LV, Semiglazov VV, Krivorotko PV, Semiglazov VF. [Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in triple negative breast cancer]. Arkh Patol 2024; 86:5-11. [PMID: 38881000 DOI: 10.17116/patol2024860315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are a promising inexpensive prognostic and predictive biomarker in breast cancer. High levels of TILs are associated with improved survival and higher probability to achieve pathological complete response in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). OBJECTIVE To assess the level of TILs in TNBC samples and analyze the association between the level of TILs and the main pathological parameters, to identify their impact on long-term results. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study included information on 140 patients with I-III stage TNBC and estrogen receptors <10%. Tumor tissue samples at baseline biopsies were evaluated the histological type, HER2 expression, estrogen expression levels, Ki-67 and TILs. The pathological response was evaluated according to the ypTNM, Miller-Payne, and RCB classifications. RESULTS The average level of TILs in biopsy specimens before NACT was 29.3±23.1%. Low levels of TILs (<10%) were defined in 21% of cases, intermediate levels (≥10% to ≤40%) in 55% of cases, and high levels (>40%) in 24% of cases. Using the two-tiered system, low TILs (≤40%) were defined in 76% and high TILs (>40%) in 24% of cases. The level of TILs was correlated with histological grade (R=0.187; p=0.027) and estrogen receptor expression level (R=0.211; p=0.012). There were no significant differences depending on the level of TILs and other pathological parameters. Three-year event-free survival (EFS) in patients with high TILs levels was 95% versus 65% in the low TILs group (p=0.037). CONCLUSION Stromal TILs are an important prognostic biomarker in TNBC. Using a cutoff of 40%, high TILs are significantly associated with longer EFS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sh R Abdullaeva
- N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - T Yu Semiglazova
- N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology, St. Petersburg, Russia
- I.I. Mechnikov North-Western State Medical University, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - A S Artemyeva
- N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - V A Zagoruiko
- N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - T I Kudriashova
- N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - L V Filatova
- N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - V V Semiglazov
- N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology, St. Petersburg, Russia
- I.P. Pavlov First Saint Petersburg State Medical University, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - P V Krivorotko
- N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology, St. Petersburg, Russia
- I.I. Mechnikov North-Western State Medical University, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - V F Semiglazov
- N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology, St. Petersburg, Russia
- I.I. Mechnikov North-Western State Medical University, St. Petersburg, Russia
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9
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Carvalho FM. Triple-negative breast cancer: from none to multiple therapeutic targets in two decades. Front Oncol 2023; 13:1244781. [PMID: 38023167 PMCID: PMC10666917 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1244781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) are more likely to occur in younger patients and have a poor prognosis. They are highly heterogeneous tumors consisting of different molecular subtypes. The only common characteristic among them is the absence of targets for endocrine therapy and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) blockade. In the past two decades, there has been an increased understanding of these tumors from a molecular perspective, leading to their stratification according to new therapeutic strategies. TNBC has ushered breast carcinomas into the era of immunotherapy. The higher frequency of germline BRCA mutations in these tumors enables targeting this repair defect by drugs like PARP inhibitors, resulting in synthetic lethality in neoplastic cells. Additionally, we have the identification of new molecules to which this generation of smart drugs, such as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), are directed. In this review, we will discuss the trajectory of this knowledge in a systematic manner, presenting the molecular bases, therapeutic possibilities, and biomarkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filomena Marino Carvalho
- Department of Pathology, Faculdade de Medicina FMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
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10
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Rosa ML, Reinert T, Pauletto MM, Sartori G, Graudenz M, Barrios CH. Implications of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in early-stage triple-negative breast cancer: clinical oncologist perspectives. TRANSLATIONAL BREAST CANCER RESEARCH : A JOURNAL FOCUSING ON TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH IN BREAST CANCER 2023; 5:4. [PMID: 38751669 PMCID: PMC11093080 DOI: 10.21037/tbcr-23-43] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Breast cancer (BC) is the most common neoplasm in women worldwide and one of the leading causes of female death. The triple-negative subtype, characterized by the absence of hormone receptor (HR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), tends to occur in younger patients, be more aggressive and less differentiated. Furthermore, this subtype is considered the most immunogenic and associated with higher levels of tumor cell infiltration, mainly lymphocytes. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) play a crucial role in the interaction of the host's immune system and cancer cells. The microenvironment is critical in tumor development and progression. Assessment of infiltrating lymphocytes can provide valuable information about the immune response and, given the lack of biomarkers to guide treatment decisions and predict outcomes in triple-negative tumors and can be considered as a potential biomarker. Some evidence suggests that higher levels of these lymphocytes are associated with better responses to systemic treatment, longer progression-free survival and overall survival (OS). However, treatment escalation or de-escalation strategies for triple-negative BC (TNBC) currently do not consider the presence or density of TILs for therapeutic decisions. TILs appear to be useful predictive and prognostic indicators. Further clinical studies are needed to confirm these relationships and integrate TILs as a biomarker consistently into clinical practice. This article summarizes key concepts relating to the role of the immune infiltrate in BC, along with the current status and future prospects regarding TILs as a predictive and prognostic biomarker.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahira Lopes Rosa
- Postgraduate Program in Medical Sciences, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
- Oncoclínicas, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Tomas Reinert
- Oncoclínicas, Porto Alegre, Brazil
- Grupo Brasileiro de Estudos em Câncer de Mama (GBECAM), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | | | - Guilherme Sartori
- Postgraduate Program in Medical Sciences, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
- Centro de Pesquisa da Serra Gaúcha (CEPESG), Caxias do Sul, Brazil
| | - Marcia Graudenz
- Postgraduate Program in Medical Sciences, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
- Department of Pathology, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Carlos Henrique Barrios
- Oncoclínicas, Porto Alegre, Brazil
- Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group (LACOG), Porto Alegre, Brazil
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11
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Kotsifaki A, Alevizopoulos N, Dimopoulou V, Armakolas A. Unveiling the Immune Microenvironment's Role in Breast Cancer: A Glimpse into Promising Frontiers. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:15332. [PMID: 37895012 PMCID: PMC10607694 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242015332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer (BC), one of the most widespread and devastating diseases affecting women worldwide, presents a significant public health challenge. This review explores the emerging frontiers of research focused on deciphering the intricate interplay between BC cells and the immune microenvironment. Understanding the role of the immune system in BC is critical as it holds promise for novel therapeutic approaches and precision medicine strategies. This review delves into the current literature regarding the immune microenvironment's contribution to BC initiation, progression, and metastasis. It examines the complex mechanisms by which BC cells interact with various immune cell populations, including tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Furthermore, this review highlights the impact of immune-related factors, such as cytokines and immune checkpoint molecules. Additionally, this comprehensive analysis sheds light on the potential biomarkers associated with the immune response in BC, enabling early diagnosis and prognostic assessment. The therapeutic implications of targeting the immune microenvironment are also explored, encompassing immunotherapeutic strategies and combination therapies to enhance treatment efficacy. The significance of this review lies in its potential to pave the way for novel therapeutic interventions, providing clinicians and researchers with essential knowledge to design targeted and personalized treatment regimens for BC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Athanasios Armakolas
- Physiology Laboratory, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (A.K.); (N.A.); (V.D.)
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12
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Wu R, Oshi M, Asaoka M, Yan L, Benesch MG, Khoury T, Nagahashi M, Miyoshi Y, Endo I, Ishikawa T, Takabe K. Intratumoral Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs) are Associated With Cell Proliferation and Better Survival But Not Always With Chemotherapy Response in Breast Cancer. Ann Surg 2023; 278:587-597. [PMID: 37318852 PMCID: PMC10481934 DOI: 10.1097/sla.0000000000005954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical relevance of intratumoral tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in breast cancer as measured by computational deconvolution of bulk tumor transcriptomes. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA Commonly assessed TILs, located in tumor stroma without direct contact with cancer cells (stromal TILs), correlate with breast cancer treatment response and survival. The clinical relevance of intratumoral TILs has been less studied partly due to their rarity; however, they may have nonnegligible effects given their direct contact with cancer cells. METHODS In all, 5870 breast cancer patients from TCGA, METABRIC, GSE96058, GSE25066, GSE163882, GSE123845, and GSE20271 cohorts were analyzed and validated. RESULTS The intratumoral TIL score was established by the sum of all types of lymphocytes using the xCell algorithm. This score was the highest in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and the lowest in the ER-positive/HER2-negative subtype. It correlated with cytolytic activity and infiltrations of dendritic cells, macrophages, and monocytes, and uniformly enriched immune-related gene sets regardless of subtype. Intratumoral TIL-high tumors correlated with higher mutation rates and significant cell proliferation on biological, pathological, and molecular analyses only in the ER-positive/HER2-negative subtype. It was significantly associated with pathological complete response after anthracycline- and taxane-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy in about half of the cohorts, regardless of the subtype. Intratumoral TIL-high tumors correlated with better overall survival in HER2-positive and TNBC subtypes consistently in 3 cohorts. CONCLUSIONS Intratumoral TILs estimated by transcriptome computation were associated with increased immune response and cell proliferation in ER-positive/HER2-negative and better survival in HER2-positive and TNBC subtypes, but not always with pathological complete response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rongrong Wu
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY
- Department of Breast Surgery and Oncology, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masanori Oshi
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY
- Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Mariko Asaoka
- Department of Breast Surgery and Oncology, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Li Yan
- Department of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY
| | - Matthew G.K. Benesch
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY
| | - Thaer Khoury
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY
| | - Masayuki Nagahashi
- Division of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Department of Surgery, Hyogo Medical University School of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Yasuo Miyoshi
- Division of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Department of Surgery, Hyogo Medical University School of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Itaru Endo
- Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Takashi Ishikawa
- Department of Breast Surgery and Oncology, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kazuaki Takabe
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY
- Department of Breast Surgery and Oncology, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
- Department of Surgery, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY
- Department of Surgery, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata, Japan
- Department of Breast Surgery, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan
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13
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Angelico G, Broggi G, Tinnirello G, Puzzo L, Vecchio GM, Salvatorelli L, Memeo L, Santoro A, Farina J, Mulé A, Magro G, Caltabiano R. Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILS) and PD-L1 Expression in Breast Cancer: A Review of Current Evidence and Prognostic Implications from Pathologist's Perspective. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:4479. [PMID: 37760449 PMCID: PMC10526828 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15184479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Revised: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
With the rise of novel immunotherapies able to stimulate the antitumor immune response, increasing literature concerning the immunogenicity of breast cancer has been published in recent years. Numerous clinical studies have been conducted in order to identify novel biomarkers that could reflect the immunogenicity of BC and predict response to immunotherapy. In this regard, TILs have emerged as an important immunological biomarker related to the antitumor immune response in BC. TILs are more frequently observed in triple-negative breast cancer and HER2+ subtypes, where increased TIL levels have been linked to a better response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and improved survival. PD-L1 is a type 1 transmembrane protein ligand expressed on T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and antigen-presenting cells and is considered a key inhibitory checkpoint involved in cancer immune regulation. PD-L1 immunohistochemical expression in breast cancer is observed in about 10-30% of cases and is extremely variable based on tumor stage and molecular subtypes. Briefly, TNBC shows the highest percentage of PD-L1 positivity, followed by HER2+ tumors. On the other hand, PD-L1 is rarely expressed (0-10% of cases) in hormone-receptor-positive BC. The prognostic role of PD-L1 expression in BC is still controversial since different immunohistochemistry (IHC) clones, cut-off points, and scoring systems have been utilized across published studies. In the present paper, an extensive review of the current knowledge of the immune landscape of BC is provided. TILS and PD-L1 expression across different BC subtypes are discussed, providing a guide for their pathological assessment and reporting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Angelico
- Department of Medical, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies G.F. Ingrassia, Anatomic Pathology, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (G.B.); (G.T.); (L.P.); (G.M.V.); (L.S.); (J.F.); (G.M.); (R.C.)
| | - Giuseppe Broggi
- Department of Medical, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies G.F. Ingrassia, Anatomic Pathology, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (G.B.); (G.T.); (L.P.); (G.M.V.); (L.S.); (J.F.); (G.M.); (R.C.)
| | - Giordana Tinnirello
- Department of Medical, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies G.F. Ingrassia, Anatomic Pathology, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (G.B.); (G.T.); (L.P.); (G.M.V.); (L.S.); (J.F.); (G.M.); (R.C.)
| | - Lidia Puzzo
- Department of Medical, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies G.F. Ingrassia, Anatomic Pathology, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (G.B.); (G.T.); (L.P.); (G.M.V.); (L.S.); (J.F.); (G.M.); (R.C.)
| | - Giada Maria Vecchio
- Department of Medical, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies G.F. Ingrassia, Anatomic Pathology, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (G.B.); (G.T.); (L.P.); (G.M.V.); (L.S.); (J.F.); (G.M.); (R.C.)
| | - Lucia Salvatorelli
- Department of Medical, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies G.F. Ingrassia, Anatomic Pathology, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (G.B.); (G.T.); (L.P.); (G.M.V.); (L.S.); (J.F.); (G.M.); (R.C.)
| | - Lorenzo Memeo
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Mediterranean Institute of Oncology, 95029 Catania, Italy;
| | - Angela Santoro
- Pathology Unit, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy; (A.S.); (A.M.)
| | - Jessica Farina
- Department of Medical, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies G.F. Ingrassia, Anatomic Pathology, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (G.B.); (G.T.); (L.P.); (G.M.V.); (L.S.); (J.F.); (G.M.); (R.C.)
| | - Antonino Mulé
- Pathology Unit, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy; (A.S.); (A.M.)
| | - Gaetano Magro
- Department of Medical, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies G.F. Ingrassia, Anatomic Pathology, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (G.B.); (G.T.); (L.P.); (G.M.V.); (L.S.); (J.F.); (G.M.); (R.C.)
| | - Rosario Caltabiano
- Department of Medical, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies G.F. Ingrassia, Anatomic Pathology, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (G.B.); (G.T.); (L.P.); (G.M.V.); (L.S.); (J.F.); (G.M.); (R.C.)
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Choi S, Cho SI, Jung W, Lee T, Choi SJ, Song S, Park G, Park S, Ma M, Pereira S, Yoo D, Shin S, Ock CY, Kim S. Deep learning model improves tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte evaluation and therapeutic response prediction in breast cancer. NPJ Breast Cancer 2023; 9:71. [PMID: 37648694 PMCID: PMC10469174 DOI: 10.1038/s41523-023-00577-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have been recognized as key players in the tumor microenvironment of breast cancer, but substantial interobserver variability among pathologists has impeded its utility as a biomarker. We developed a deep learning (DL)-based TIL analyzer to evaluate stromal TILs (sTILs) in breast cancer. Three pathologists evaluated 402 whole slide images of breast cancer and interpreted the sTIL scores. A standalone performance of the DL model was evaluated in the 210 cases (52.2%) exhibiting sTIL score differences of less than 10 percentage points, yielding a concordance correlation coefficient of 0.755 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.693-0.805) in comparison to the pathologists' scores. For the 226 slides (56.2%) showing a 10 percentage points or greater variance between pathologists and the DL model, revisions were made. The number of discordant cases was reduced to 116 (28.9%) with the DL assistance (p < 0.001). The DL assistance also increased the concordance correlation coefficient of the sTIL score among every two pathologists. In triple-negative and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer patients who underwent the neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the DL-assisted revision notably accentuated higher sTIL scores in responders (26.8 ± 19.6 vs. 19.0 ± 16.4, p = 0.003). Furthermore, the DL-assistant revision disclosed the correlation of sTIL-high tumors (sTIL ≥ 50) with the chemotherapeutic response (odd ratio 1.28 [95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.63], p = 0.039). Through enhancing inter-pathologist concordance in sTIL interpretation and predicting neoadjuvant chemotherapy response, here we report the utility of the DL-based tool as a reference for sTIL scoring in breast cancer assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sangjoon Choi
- Department of Pathology and Translational Genomics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | | | | | | | - Su Jin Choi
- Department of Pathology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ajou University Graduate School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea
| | | | | | | | - Minuk Ma
- Lunit Inc, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | | | | | | | | | - Seokhwi Kim
- Department of Pathology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ajou University Graduate School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
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15
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Lu Y, Tong Y, Fei X, Chen X, Shen K. Clinical characteristics, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, and prognosis in HER2-low breast cancer: A comparison study with HER2-zero and HER2-positive disease. Cancer Med 2023; 12:16264-16278. [PMID: 37366301 PMCID: PMC10469737 DOI: 10.1002/cam4.6290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION HER2-low breast cancer is a gradually recognized and unexplored group of diseases. We aimed to investigate the clinical and prognosis features and to identify the role of stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (sTILs) in this population. METHODS Consecutive primary breast cancer patients treated between January 2009 to June 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. HER2-low was defined as immunohistochemistry (IHC) 1+, or 2+ and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) negative. sTILs were scored following the international guidelines. Clinicopathologic features and survival were compared according to HER2 and sTILs category. RESULTS A total of 973 breast cancer patients were enrolled, including 615 (63.2%) HER2-low patients. HER2-low patients shared more similarity with HER2-0 cases in clinicopathological features. sTILs in HER2-Low patients was comparable to HER2-0 patients (p = 0.064), both significantly lower than HER2-positive ones (p < 0.001). Meanwhile, tumors with sTILs ≥50% accounted for the least proportion of HER2-low cases (p < 0.001). HER2 status had no significant influence on recurrence-free survival (RFS, p = 0.901) in the whole population. However, in the estrogen receptor (ER)-negative subgroup, HER2-low was related to worse RFS (p = 0.009) and OS (p = 0.001) compared with HER2-positive ones. sTILs increment was an independent favorable prognostic factor in the whole (OS, p = 0.003; RFS, p = 0.005) and HER2-low population (OS, p = 0.007; RFS, p = 0.009) after adjusted to clinicopathological parameters. CONCLUSIONS HER2-low patients shared similar clinicopathological features with HER2-0 rather than HER2-positive cases and had relatively low sTILs. ER-negative/HER2-low patients had significantly inferior survival. sTILs increment was independently associated with favorable survival in the HER2-low group, suggesting a potential benefit from a novel treatment strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yujie Lu
- Department of General Surgery, Comprehensive Breast Health Center, Ruijin HospitalShanghai Jiao Tong University School of MedicineShanghaiChina
| | - Yiwei Tong
- Department of General Surgery, Comprehensive Breast Health Center, Ruijin HospitalShanghai Jiao Tong University School of MedicineShanghaiChina
| | - Xiaochun Fei
- Department of Pathology, Comprehensive Breast Health Center, Ruijin HospitalShanghai Jiao Tong University School of MedicineShanghaiChina
| | - Xiaosong Chen
- Department of General Surgery, Comprehensive Breast Health Center, Ruijin HospitalShanghai Jiao Tong University School of MedicineShanghaiChina
| | - Kunwei Shen
- Department of General Surgery, Comprehensive Breast Health Center, Ruijin HospitalShanghai Jiao Tong University School of MedicineShanghaiChina
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16
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Kumarguru BN, Ramaswamy AS, Arathi CA, Swathi D. Utility of Indigenously Developed Square Grid Method for Evaluation of Tumor-Stroma Ratio and Stromal Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes in Invasive Breast Carcinoma: A Pilot Study. IRANIAN JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY 2023; 18:335-346. [PMID: 37942205 PMCID: PMC10628375 DOI: 10.30699/ijp.2023.1989528.3063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023]
Abstract
Background & Objective Invasive breast carcinoma (IBC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in India. The conventional visual method of evaluation of Tumor-Stroma Ratio (TSR) and Stromal Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes (sTIL) appears to be subjective. The present study aims to evaluate the utility of the indigenously designed square grid method for the evaluation of tumor-stroma ratio and stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in invasive breast carcinoma by assessing the inter-observer variability. Methods This was a retrospective study conducted at a rural tertiary care referral institute from July 2018 to June 2020. In each case, microphotographs were taken from 10 representative fields in H&E-stained sections for evaluating TSR in low-power and sTIL in high-power. Both the parameters were evaluated employing an indigenously designed square grid applied onto microphotographs in the power-point slides by making use of principles of the Pythagorean theorem. Both parameters were separately evaluated by two pathologists. Cohen kappa statistics was the statistical tool used to analyze inter-observer variability. Results Thirty cases were analyzed. Invasive breast carcinoma of no special type (IBC-NST) was the most common histopathological type (26 cases (86.67%)). For TRS evaluation, a Kappa value of 0.78 suggested substantial agreement with an agreement of 91.67%. For sTIL evaluation, a Kappa value of 0.51 suggested moderate agreement with an agreement of 88.33%. The P-values were statistically highly significant (P<0.001). Conclusion Square grid method is a novel technique for evaluating TSR and sTIL in invasive breast carcinoma. It can be considered an example of the application of Pythagoras' theorem in Pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- B N Kumarguru
- Department of Pathology, PES Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Kuppam, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, India
| | - A S Ramaswamy
- Department of Pathology, PES Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Kuppam, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, India
| | - C A Arathi
- Department of Pathology, PES Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Kuppam, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, India
| | - D Swathi
- Department of Pathology, PES Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Kuppam, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, India
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Jääskeläinen MM, Tiainen S, Siiskonen H, Ahtiainen M, Kuopio T, Rönkä A, Kettunen T, Hämäläinen K, Rilla K, Harvima I, Mannermaa A, Auvinen P. The prognostic and predictive role of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (FoxP3 + and CD8 +) and tumor-associated macrophages in early HER2 + breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2023:10.1007/s10549-023-07017-8. [PMID: 37428418 PMCID: PMC10361875 DOI: 10.1007/s10549-023-07017-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE In HER2-positive (HER2 +) breast cancer, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) may influence the efficacy of the HER2-antibody trastuzumab and the patient's outcome. In this HER2 + patient cohort, our aim was to study the numbers of FoxP3 + regulatory TILs and CD8 + cytotoxic TILs, their correlations with CD68 + and CD163 + TAMs, and the prognostic and predictive value of the studied factors. METHODS We evaluated 139 non-metastatic HER2 + breast cancer patients operated between 2001 and 2008. The FoxP3+TIL count (FoxP3+TILs) was assessed using the hotspot method, and the CD8 + TIL count (CD8+mTILs) utilizing a digital image analysis from invasive margin areas. The ratios between CD8+mTILs and FoxP3+TILs as well as CD8+mTILs and TAMs were calculated. RESULTS FoxP3 + TILs and CD8 + mTILs correlated positively with each other (p<0.001). FoxP3+TILs had a positive correlation with CD68+and CD163+TAMs (p≤0.038), while CD8 + mTILs correlated only with CD68+TAMs (p<0.001). In the HER2 + and hormone receptor-positive Luminal B subgroup, high numbers of FoxP3+TILs were associated with shorter disease-free survival (DFS) (54% vs. 79%, p = 0.040). The benefit from adjuvant trastuzumab was extremely significant among patients with a high CD8 + mTILs/CD68 + TAMs ratio, with overall survival (OS) 84% vs. 33% (p = 0.003) and breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) 88% vs. 48% (p = 0.009) among patients treated with or without trastuzumab, respectively. CONCLUSION In the HER2 + Luminal B subgroup, high FoxP3 + TILs were associated with shorter DFS. A high CD8 + mTILs/CD68 + TAMs ratio seems to associate with impressive efficacy of trastuzumab.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minna M Jääskeläinen
- Cancer Center, Kuopio University Hospital, Northern Savonia Healthcare Municipality, P.O.Box 100, 70029, Kuopio, Finland
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Satu Tiainen
- Cancer Center, Kuopio University Hospital, Northern Savonia Healthcare Municipality, P.O.Box 100, 70029, Kuopio, Finland.
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
| | - Hanna Siiskonen
- Imaging Center, Clinical Pathology, Kuopio University Hospital, Northern Savonia Healthcare Municipality, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Maarit Ahtiainen
- Department of Pathology, Central Finland Hospital Nova, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Teijo Kuopio
- Department of Pathology, Central Finland Hospital Nova, Jyväskylä, Finland
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Aino Rönkä
- Cancer Center, Kuopio University Hospital, Northern Savonia Healthcare Municipality, P.O.Box 100, 70029, Kuopio, Finland
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Tiia Kettunen
- Cancer Center, Kuopio University Hospital, Northern Savonia Healthcare Municipality, P.O.Box 100, 70029, Kuopio, Finland
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Kirsi Hämäläinen
- Imaging Center, Clinical Pathology, Kuopio University Hospital, Northern Savonia Healthcare Municipality, Kuopio, Finland
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Clinical Pathology and Forensic Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
- Biocenter Kuopio and Cancer Center of Eastern Finland, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Kirsi Rilla
- Institute of Biomedicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Ilkka Harvima
- Department of Dermatology, Kuopio University Hospital, Northern Savonia Healthcare Municipality and University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Arto Mannermaa
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Clinical Pathology and Forensic Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
- Biobank of Eastern Finland, Kuopio University Hospital, Northern Savonia Healthcare Municipality, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Päivi Auvinen
- Cancer Center, Kuopio University Hospital, Northern Savonia Healthcare Municipality, P.O.Box 100, 70029, Kuopio, Finland
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
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18
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Huynh CG, Huynh NX, Truong HBT, Thai TT, Doan TPT. PD-L1 and TILs expression and their association with clinicopathological characteristics in Vietnamese women with primary invasive breast cancer. Medicine (Baltimore) 2023; 102:e34222. [PMID: 37390260 PMCID: PMC10313285 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000034222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) are promising new factors in the prognosis and prediction of breast cancer patients. Our study evaluated the prevalence of expression of TILs on hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) slides, PD-L1 expression on immunohistochemistry, and their association with clinicopathological characteristics in Vietnamese women with invasive breast cancer. This study was conducted on 216 women with primary invasive breast cancer. The evaluation of TILs on the HE slides was based on the International TILs Working Group 2014 recommendation. PD-L1 protein expression was determined using the Combined Positive Score, the number of tumor cells, lymphocytes, and macrophages stained by PD-L1 divided by the total viable tumor cells multiplied by 100. Based on the cutoff of 11%, the prevalence of TILs expression was 35.6%, of which highly expressed TILs (≥50%) accounted for 15.3%. Postmenopausal women and those who had a body mass index of 25 kg/m2 or greater had a higher odds of having TILs expression. However, patients who had the expression of Ki-67, HER-positive molecular subtype, and triple-negative subtype were more likely to have TILs expression. The prevalence of PD-L1 expression was 30.1%. A significantly higher odds of having PD-L1 was found in patients who had a history of benign breast disease, self-detected tumor and had TILs expression. The expression of TILs and PD-L1 is common in Vietnamese women with invasive breast cancer. Because of the importance of these expressions, routine evaluation to find women who had TILs and PD-L1 is needed so that treatment and prognosis can be optimized. Such routine evaluation can be targeted to those who had a high-risk profile found in this study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chau Giang Huynh
- Department of Pathology, Hung Vuong Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
| | - Nghiem Xuan Huynh
- Department of Pathology, Hung Vuong Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
| | - Ha Bich Thi Truong
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
| | - Truc Thanh Thai
- Department of Medical Statistics and Informatics, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
| | - Thao Phuong Thi Doan
- Department of Pathology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
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19
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Venetis K, Sajjadi E, Ivanova M, Peccatori FA, Fusco N, Guerini-Rocco E. Characterization of the immune environment in pregnancy-associated breast cancer. Future Oncol 2023. [PMID: 37376974 DOI: 10.2217/fon-2022-1321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PrBC) is a rare and clinically challenging condition. Specific immune mechanisms and pathways are involved in maternal-fetal tolerance and tumor-host immunoediting. The comprehension of the molecular processes underpinning this immune synergy in PrBC is needed to improve patients' clinical management. Only a few studies focused on the immune biology of PrBC and attempted to identify bona fide biomarkers. Therefore, clinically actionable information remains extremely puzzling for these patients. In this review article, we discuss the current knowledge on the immune environment of PrBC, in comparison with pregnancy-unrelated breast cancer and in the context of maternal immune changes during pregnancy. A particular emphasis is given to the actual role of potential immune-related biomarkers for PrBC clinical management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konstantinos Venetis
- Division of Pathology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, 20141, Italy
| | - Elham Sajjadi
- Division of Pathology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, 20141, Italy
- Department of Oncology & Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, 20122, Italy
| | - Mariia Ivanova
- Division of Pathology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, 20141, Italy
| | - Fedro Alessandro Peccatori
- Fertility & Procreation Unit, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, 20141, Italy
| | - Nicola Fusco
- Division of Pathology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, 20141, Italy
- Department of Oncology & Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, 20122, Italy
| | - Elena Guerini-Rocco
- Division of Pathology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, 20141, Italy
- Department of Oncology & Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, 20122, Italy
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20
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Pournabee M, Keshavarz-Fathi M, Esmaeili P, Mahdavi Sharif P, Nili F, Jahanbin B. Characterization of immune checkpoints expression and lymphocyte densities of iranian breast cancer patients; the co-expression status and clinicopathological associates. BMC Cancer 2023; 23:495. [PMID: 37264298 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-023-11005-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Breast malignancies are now the most common and deadliest type of neoplasms among women worldwide. Novel therapeutic approaches are needed to combat advanced stages of breast cancer. In this study, we aimed to investigate the expression and co-expression status of three immune checkpoints (PD-1, PD-L1, and LAG-3), as well as tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) scores, and to further establish their potential correlations with clinicopathologic features. METHODS We performed a retrospective study on 361 pathologic samples of breast cancer. Immunohistochemistry was performed to assess the status of the immune checkpoint markers, and H&E staining was used to score TILs. The correlations of the immune checkpoint markers of tumor cells and tumor-associated immune cells and TIL scores with clinicopathological characteristics were analyzed. RESULTS Out of 361 assessed samples, LAG-3 was positive in 51%, while IC PD-L1 and TC PD-L1 were detectable in 36% and 8.9%, respectively. Moreover, both IC PD-L1 and LAG-3 stained positively in 24.4% of samples. IC PD-L1 expression was significantly higher in tumors with higher nuclear, mitotic, and overall grades and tubule formation. In addition, TC PD-L1 and LAG-3 exhibited a similar trend for higher overall grading. Tumors with positive estrogen- and progesterone-receptor (ER and PR) expression had significantly lower IC PD-L1 and TC PD-L1 staining, while LAG-3 positivity was more prevalent in HER2 positive samples. Tumors that were positive for these biomarkers had significantly higher Ki-67 scores. LAG-3 expression showed significant correlations with PD-1 and IC PD-L1 expression. Besides, the co-expression of LAG-3 and IC PD-L1 was significantly more encountered in luminal B and triple-negative subtypes, compared to the luminal A subtype. Regarding TILs, their scoring was significantly higher in ER and PR negative and HER2 positive samples. Intriguingly, samples with positive staining for LAG-3, IC PD-L1, and TC PD-L1 had significantly higher TIL scorings. CONCLUSIONS Immune checkpoints show differentially different levels of expression in certain molecular subtypes of breast cancer. Moreover, they reveal a meaningful correlation with each other, proliferation indices, and histologic grades. Finally, a sizable proportion of breast cancers co-express PD-L1 and LAG-3, which will make them appropriate targets for future combined ICIs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammadhossein Pournabee
- Breast Disease Research Center, Cancer Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mahsa Keshavarz-Fathi
- Research Center for Immunodeficiencies, Children's Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Cancer Immunology Project (CIP), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran
| | - Pooyesh Esmaeili
- Cancer Institute, Pathology Department, Imam Khomeini Hospital complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Pouya Mahdavi Sharif
- Cancer Immunology Project (CIP), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran
- School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Fatemeh Nili
- Cancer Institute, Pathology Department, Imam Khomeini Hospital complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Behnaz Jahanbin
- Cancer Institute, Pathology Department, Imam Khomeini Hospital complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
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21
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Sun GY, Zhang J, Wang BZ, Jing H, Fang H, Tang Y, Song YW, Jin J, Liu YP, Tang Y, Qi SN, Chen B, Lu NN, Li N, Li YX, Ying JM, Wang SL. The prognostic value of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes, programmed cell death protein-1 and programmed cell death ligand-1 in Stage I-III triple-negative breast cancer. Br J Cancer 2023; 128:2044-2053. [PMID: 36966236 PMCID: PMC10205737 DOI: 10.1038/s41416-023-02218-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2022] [Revised: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) represent a robust biological prognostic biomarker in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC); however, the contribution of different subsets of immune cells is unclear. We investigated the prognostic value of immune markers, including stromal TILs (sTILs), CD8+T and FOPX3+T cells, PD-1 and PD-L1 in non-metastatic TNBC. METHODS In total, 259 patients with Stage I-III TNBC were reviewed. The density of sTILs along with the presence of total (t), stromal (s), and intratumoral (i) CD8+T cells and FOPX3+T cells were evaluated by haematoxylin and eosin and immunohistochemical staining. Immunohistochemical staining of PD-1, PD-L1 was also conducted. RESULTS All immune markers were positively correlated with each other (P < 0.05). In the multivariate analysis, sTILs (P = 0.046), tCD8+T cells (P = 0.024), iCD8+T cells (P = 0.050) and PD-1 (P = 0.039) were identified as independent prognostic factors for disease-free survival (DFS). Further analysis showed that tCD8+T cells (P = 0.026), iCD8+T cells (P = 0.017) and PD-1 (P = 0.037) increased the prognostic value for DFS beyond that of the classic clinicopathological factors and sTILs. CONCLUSIONS In addition to sTILs, inclusion of tCD8+T, iCD8+T cells, or PD-1 may further refine the prognostic model for non-metastatic TNBC beyond that including classical factors alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guang-Yi Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 100021, Beijing, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- Department of Pathology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 100021, Beijing, China
- Department of Pathology, Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Cancer Hospital, 350014, Fuzhou, China
| | - Bing-Zhi Wang
- Department of Pathology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 100021, Beijing, China
| | - Hao Jing
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 100021, Beijing, China
| | - Hui Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 100021, Beijing, China
| | - Yu Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 100021, Beijing, China
| | - Yong-Wen Song
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 100021, Beijing, China
| | - Jing Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 100021, Beijing, China
| | - Yue-Ping Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 100021, Beijing, China
| | - Yuan Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 100021, Beijing, China
| | - Shu-Nan Qi
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 100021, Beijing, China
| | - Bo Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 100021, Beijing, China
| | - Ning-Ning Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 100021, Beijing, China
| | - Ning Li
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 100021, Beijing, China
| | - Ye-Xiong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 100021, Beijing, China.
| | - Jian-Ming Ying
- Department of Pathology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 100021, Beijing, China.
| | - Shu-Lian Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 100021, Beijing, China.
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22
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García-Torralba E, Navarro Manzano E, Luengo-Gil G, De la Morena Barrio P, Chaves Benito A, Pérez-Ramos M, Álvarez-Abril B, Ivars Rubio A, García-Garre E, Ayala de la Peña F, García-Martínez E. A new prognostic model including immune biomarkers, genomic proliferation tumor markers ( AURKA and MYBL2) and clinical-pathological features optimizes prognosis in neoadjuvant breast cancer patients. Front Oncol 2023; 13:1182725. [PMID: 37313470 PMCID: PMC10258327 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1182725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Up to 30% of breast cancer (BC) patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT) will relapse. Our objective was to analyze the predictive capacity of several markers associated with immune response and cell proliferation combined with clinical parameters. Methods This was a single-center, retrospective cohort study of BC patients treated with NCT (2001-2010), in whom pretreatment biomarkers were analyzed: neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in peripheral blood, CD3+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), and gene expression of AURKA, MYBL2 and MKI67 using qRT-PCR. Results A total of 121 patients were included. Median followup was 12 years. In a univariate analysis, NLR, TILs, AURKA, and MYBL2 showed prognostic value for overall survival. In multivariate analyses, including hormone receptor, HER2 status, and response to NCT, NLR (HR 1.23, 95% CI 1.01-1.75), TILs (HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.73-0.93), AURKA (HR 1.05, 95% CI 1.00-1.11) and MYBL2 (HR 1.19, 95% CI 1.05-1.35) remained as independent predictor variables. Conclusion Consecutive addition of these biomarkers to a regression model progressively increased its discriminatory capacity for survival. Should independent cohort studies validate these findings, management of early BC patients may well be changed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esmeralda García-Torralba
- Department of Haematology and Medical Oncology, University Hospital Morales Meseguer, Murcia, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Medical School, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria (IMIB), Murcia, Spain
| | - Esther Navarro Manzano
- Department of Medicine, Medical School, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria (IMIB), Murcia, Spain
| | - Gines Luengo-Gil
- Department of Haematology and Medical Oncology, University Hospital Morales Meseguer, Murcia, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Medical School, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria (IMIB), Murcia, Spain
| | - Pilar De la Morena Barrio
- Department of Haematology and Medical Oncology, University Hospital Morales Meseguer, Murcia, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Medical School, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria (IMIB), Murcia, Spain
| | | | - Miguel Pérez-Ramos
- Department of Pathology, University Hospital Morales Meseguer, Murcia, Spain
| | - Beatriz Álvarez-Abril
- Department of Haematology and Medical Oncology, University Hospital Morales Meseguer, Murcia, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Medical School, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria (IMIB), Murcia, Spain
| | - Alejandra Ivars Rubio
- Department of Haematology and Medical Oncology, University Hospital Morales Meseguer, Murcia, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Medical School, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria (IMIB), Murcia, Spain
| | - Elisa García-Garre
- Department of Haematology and Medical Oncology, University Hospital Morales Meseguer, Murcia, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Medical School, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria (IMIB), Murcia, Spain
| | - Francisco Ayala de la Peña
- Department of Haematology and Medical Oncology, University Hospital Morales Meseguer, Murcia, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Medical School, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria (IMIB), Murcia, Spain
| | - Elena García-Martínez
- Department of Haematology and Medical Oncology, University Hospital Morales Meseguer, Murcia, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Medical School, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria (IMIB), Murcia, Spain
- Medical School, Catholic University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
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23
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García-Torralba E, Pérez Ramos M, Ivars Rubio A, Navarro-Manzano E, Blaya Boluda N, de la Morena Barrio P, García-Garre E, Martínez Díaz F, Chaves-Benito A, García-Martínez E, Ayala de la Peña F. Clinical Meaning of Stromal Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes (sTIL) in Early Luminal B Breast Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:2846. [PMID: 37345183 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15102846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Luminal breast cancer (BC) is associated with less immune activation, and the significance of stromal lymphocytic infiltration (sTIL) is more uncertain than in other BC subtypes. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive and prognostic value of sTIL in early luminal BC. The study was performed with an observational design in a prospective cohort of 345 patients with predominantly high-risk luminal (hormone receptor positive, HER2 negative) BC and with luminal B features (n = 286), in which the presence of sTIL was analyzed with validated methods. Median sTIL infiltration was 5% (Q1-Q3 range (IQR), 0-10). We found that sTIL were associated with characteristics of higher biological and clinical aggressiveness (tumor and lymph node proliferation and stage, among others) and that the percentage of sTIL was predictive of pathologic complete response in patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (OR: 1.05, 95%CI 1.02-1.09, p < 0.001). The inclusion of sTIL (any level of lymphocytic infiltration: sTIL > 0%) in Cox regression multivariable prognostic models was associated with a shorter relapse-free interval (HR: 4.85, 95%CI 1.33-17.65, p = 0.016) and significantly improved its performance. The prognostic impact of sTIL was independent of other clinical and pathological variables and was mainly driven by its relevance in luminal B BC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esmeralda García-Torralba
- Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital Universitario Morales Meseguer, 30008 Murcia, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Medical School, University of Murcia, 30001 Murcia, Spain
- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria, IMIB, 30120 Murcia, Spain
| | - Miguel Pérez Ramos
- Department of Pathology, Hospital Universitario Morales Meseguer, 30008 Murcia, Spain
| | - Alejandra Ivars Rubio
- Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital Universitario Morales Meseguer, 30008 Murcia, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Medical School, University of Murcia, 30001 Murcia, Spain
- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria, IMIB, 30120 Murcia, Spain
| | - Esther Navarro-Manzano
- Department of Medicine, Medical School, University of Murcia, 30001 Murcia, Spain
- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria, IMIB, 30120 Murcia, Spain
- Centro Regional de Hemodonación, 30003 Murcia, Spain
| | - Noel Blaya Boluda
- Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital Universitario Morales Meseguer, 30008 Murcia, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Medical School, University of Murcia, 30001 Murcia, Spain
- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria, IMIB, 30120 Murcia, Spain
| | - Pilar de la Morena Barrio
- Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital Universitario Morales Meseguer, 30008 Murcia, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Medical School, University of Murcia, 30001 Murcia, Spain
- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria, IMIB, 30120 Murcia, Spain
| | - Elisa García-Garre
- Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital Universitario Morales Meseguer, 30008 Murcia, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Medical School, University of Murcia, 30001 Murcia, Spain
- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria, IMIB, 30120 Murcia, Spain
| | - Francisco Martínez Díaz
- Department of Pathology, Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía, 30003 Murcia, Spain
- Department of Pathology, Medical School, University of Murcia, 30001 Murcia, Spain
| | - Asunción Chaves-Benito
- Department of Pathology, Hospital Universitario Morales Meseguer, 30008 Murcia, Spain
- Department of Pathology, Medical School, University of Murcia, 30001 Murcia, Spain
| | - Elena García-Martínez
- Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital Universitario Morales Meseguer, 30008 Murcia, Spain
- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria, IMIB, 30120 Murcia, Spain
- Medical School, Universidad Católica San Antonio, 30107 Murcia, Spain
| | - Francisco Ayala de la Peña
- Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital Universitario Morales Meseguer, 30008 Murcia, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Medical School, University of Murcia, 30001 Murcia, Spain
- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria, IMIB, 30120 Murcia, Spain
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Mwangi KW, Kamita MK, Waweru JW, Sayed S, Figueroa JD, Ambs S, Cios KJ, Blanck G, Makokha FW. Adaptive immune receptor features related to breast cancer tissue in Kenyan patients: high immunoglobulin gene expression and high levels of gamma-delta T-cells. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2023; 199:207-214. [PMID: 36882607 PMCID: PMC10687744 DOI: 10.1007/s10549-023-06897-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Characterization of the breast cancer (BC) immune response may provide information for a point of intervention, such as application of immunotherapeutic treatments. In this study, we sought to recover and characterize the adaptive immune receptor (IR) recombination reads from genomics files representing Kenyan patients, to better understand the immune response specifically related to those patients. METHODS We used a previously applied algorithm and software to obtain productive IR recombination reads from cancer and adjacent normal tissue samples representing 22 Kenyan BC patients. RESULTS From both the RNAseq and exome files, there were significantly more T-cell receptor (TCR) recombination reads recovered from tumor samples compared to marginal tissue samples. Also, the immunoglobulin (IG) genes were expressed at a much higher level than the TCR genes (p-value = 0.0183) in the tumor samples. And, the tumor IG CDR3s consistently represented more positively charged amino acid R-groups, in comparison to the marginal tissue, IG CDR3s. CONCLUSION For Kenyan patients, a high level of IG expression, representing specific CDR3 chemistries, was associated with BC. These results lay the foundation for studies that could support specific immunotherapeutic interventions for Kenyan BC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kennedy W Mwangi
- Directorate of Research & Innovation, Mount Kenya University, Thika, Kenya
| | - Moses K Kamita
- Directorate of Research & Innovation, Mount Kenya University, Thika, Kenya
| | | | - Shahin Sayed
- Department of Pathology, Aga Khan University Hospital Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Jonine D Figueroa
- Usher Institute and the Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Stefan Ambs
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Konrad J Cios
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Bd. MDC7, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - George Blanck
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Bd. MDC7, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA.
- Department of Immunology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA.
| | - Francis W Makokha
- Directorate of Research & Innovation, Mount Kenya University, Thika, Kenya
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25
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Mehdizadeh R, Shariatpanahi SP, Goliaei B, Rüegg C. Targeting myeloid-derived suppressor cells in combination with tumor cell vaccination predicts anti-tumor immunity and breast cancer dormancy: an in silico experiment. Sci Rep 2023; 13:5875. [PMID: 37041172 PMCID: PMC10090155 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32554-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Among the different breast cancer subsets, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has the worst prognosis and limited options for targeted therapies. Immunotherapies are emerging as novel treatment opportunities for TNBC. However, the surging immune response elicited by immunotherapies to eradicate cancer cells can select resistant cancer cells, which may result in immune escape and tumor evolution and progression. Alternatively, maintaining the equilibrium phase of the immune response may be advantageous for keeping a long-term immune response in the presence of a small-size residual tumor. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are activated, expanded, and recruited to the tumor microenvironment by tumor-derived signals and can shape a pro-tumorigenic micro-environment by suppressing the innate and adaptive anti-tumor immune responses. We recently proposed a model describing immune-mediated breast cancer dormancy instigated by a vaccine consisting of dormant, immunogenic breast cancer cells derived from the murine 4T1 TNBC-like cell line. Strikingly, these 4T1-derived dormant cells recruited fewer MDSCs compared to aggressive 4T1 cells. Recent experimental studies demonstrated that inactivating MDSCs has a profound impact on reconstituting immune surveillance against the tumor. Here, we developed a deterministic mathematical model for simulating MDSCs depletion from mice bearing aggressive 4T1 tumors resulting in immunomodulation. Our computational simulations indicate that a vaccination strategy with a small number of tumor cells in combination with MDSC depletion can elicit an effective immune response suppressing the growth of a subsequent challenge with aggressive tumor cells, resulting in sustained tumor dormancy. The results predict a novel therapeutic opportunity based on the induction of effective anti-tumor immunity and tumor dormancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reza Mehdizadeh
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
| | | | - Bahram Goliaei
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Curzio Rüegg
- Laboratory of Experimental and Translational Oncology, Pathology, Department of Oncology, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Sciences and Medicine, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.
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26
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Li M, Quintana A, Alberts E, Hung MS, Boulat V, Ripoll MM, Grigoriadis A. B Cells in Breast Cancer Pathology. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:1517. [PMID: 36900307 PMCID: PMC10000926 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15051517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
B cells have recently become a focus in breast cancer pathology due to their influence on tumour regression, prognosis, and response to treatment, besides their contribution to antigen presentation, immunoglobulin production, and regulation of adaptive responses. As our understanding of diverse B cell subsets in eliciting both pro- and anti-inflammatory responses in breast cancer patients increases, it has become pertinent to address the molecular and clinical relevance of these immune cell populations within the tumour microenvironment (TME). At the primary tumour site, B cells are either found spatially dispersed or aggregated in so-called tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS). In axillary lymph nodes (LNs), B cell populations, amongst a plethora of activities, undergo germinal centre reactions to ensure humoral immunity. With the recent approval for the addition of immunotherapeutic drugs as a treatment option in the early and metastatic settings for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients, B cell populations or TLS may resemble valuable biomarkers for immunotherapy responses in certain breast cancer subgroups. New technologies such as spatially defined sequencing techniques, multiplex imaging, and digital technologies have further deciphered the diversity of B cells and the morphological structures in which they appear in the tumour and LNs. Thus, in this review, we comprehensively summarise the current knowledge of B cells in breast cancer. In addition, we provide a user-friendly single-cell RNA-sequencing platform, called "B singLe cEll rna-Seq browSer" (BLESS) platform, with a focus on the B cells in breast cancer patients to interrogate the latest publicly available single-cell RNA-sequencing data collected from diverse breast cancer studies. Finally, we explore their clinical relevance as biomarkers or molecular targets for future interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengyuan Li
- Cancer Bioinformatics, School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London SE1 9RT, UK
- School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London SE1 9RT, UK
| | | | - Elena Alberts
- Cancer Bioinformatics, School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London SE1 9RT, UK
- School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London SE1 9RT, UK
- Immunity and Cancer Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Miu Shing Hung
- Cancer Bioinformatics, School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London SE1 9RT, UK
- School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London SE1 9RT, UK
| | - Victoire Boulat
- Cancer Bioinformatics, School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London SE1 9RT, UK
- School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London SE1 9RT, UK
- Immunity and Cancer Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Mercè Martí Ripoll
- Immunology Unit, Department of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
- Biosensing and Bioanalysis Group, Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Anita Grigoriadis
- Cancer Bioinformatics, School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London SE1 9RT, UK
- School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London SE1 9RT, UK
- Breast Cancer Now Unit, School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London SE1 9RT, UK
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27
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Valenza C, Taurelli Salimbeni B, Santoro C, Trapani D, Antonarelli G, Curigliano G. Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes across Breast Cancer Subtypes: Current Issues for Biomarker Assessment. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15030767. [PMID: 36765724 PMCID: PMC9913599 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15030767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) represent a surrogate biomarker of anti-tumor, lymphocyte-mediated immunity. In early, triple-negative breast cancer, TILs have level 1B of evidence to predict clinical outcomes. TILs represent a promising biomarker to select patients who can experience a better prognosis with de-intensified cancer treatments and derive larger benefits from immune checkpoint inhibitors. However, the assessment and the validation of TILs as a biomarker require a prospective and rigorous demonstration of its clinical validity and utility, provided reproducible analytical performance. With pending data about the prospective validation of TILs' clinical validity to modulate treatments in early breast cancer, this review summarizes the most important current issues and future challenges related to the implementation of TILs assessments across all breast cancer subtypes and their potential integration into clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmine Valenza
- Division of New Drugs and Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Via Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hematology-Oncology, University of Milan, Via Festa del Perdono 7, 20122 Milan, Italy
| | - Beatrice Taurelli Salimbeni
- Division of New Drugs and Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Via Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan, Italy
- Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Celeste Santoro
- Division of New Drugs and Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Via Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hematology-Oncology, University of Milan, Via Festa del Perdono 7, 20122 Milan, Italy
| | - Dario Trapani
- Division of New Drugs and Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Via Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hematology-Oncology, University of Milan, Via Festa del Perdono 7, 20122 Milan, Italy
| | - Gabriele Antonarelli
- Division of New Drugs and Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Via Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hematology-Oncology, University of Milan, Via Festa del Perdono 7, 20122 Milan, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Curigliano
- Division of New Drugs and Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Via Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hematology-Oncology, University of Milan, Via Festa del Perdono 7, 20122 Milan, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-02-5748-9599
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28
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Sun Y, Wang Y, Lu F, Zhao X, Nie Z, He B. The prognostic values of FOXP3 + tumor-infiltrating T cells in breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. CLINICAL & TRANSLATIONAL ONCOLOGY : OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE FEDERATION OF SPANISH ONCOLOGY SOCIETIES AND OF THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE OF MEXICO 2023; 25:1830-1843. [PMID: 36692642 DOI: 10.1007/s12094-023-03080-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Tumor microenvironment is infiltrated by many immune cells, of which Regulatory T (Treg) cells are usually considered as negative regulators of the immune responses. However, the effect of FOXP3+ (forkhead box transcription factor 3) Treg cells infiltrated into the tumor areas on the prognosis of breast cancer is controversial. This meta-analysis aimed to dissect the potential values of FOXP3+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) as a prognosis predictor of breast cancer. METHODS After systematic retrieval of all relevant studies, 28 eligible articles were identified for meta-analysis. Odd ratio (OR), hazard ratio (HR), and 95% confidence interval (CI) were obtained for pooled analyses of pathological complete response (pCR), overall survival (OS), and corresponding forest plots and funnel plots were plotted, respectively. RESULTS Pooled results revealed that patients with higher levels of FOXP3+ TILs experienced better pCR (OR: 1.24, 95% CI 1.09-1.41) and OS (HR: 0.79, 95% CI 0.64-0.97). Subgroup analysis revealed that elevated FOXP3+ TILs were significantly associated with improved pCR (OR: 1.20, 95% CI 1.02-1.40) and OS (HR: 0.22, 95% CI 0.06-0.88) in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive (HER2+) breast cancer patients. Furthermore, FOXP3+ TILs in the stromal area were statistically correlated with the favorable pCR (OR: 1.22, 95% CI 1.08-1.38) and OS (HR: 0.68, 95% CI 0.49-0.96). CONCLUSIONS The predictive role of FOXP3+ TILs in the prognosis of breast cancer is influenced by various factors such as molecular subtype of breast cancer and the location of Treg. In HER2+ breast cancer and triple-negative breast cancer, FOXP3+ TILs are associated with better pCR and OS. Additionally, FOXP3+ TILs in stromal represent a favourable prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yalan Sun
- School of Basic-Medicine and Clinical Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China.,Department of Laboratory Medicine, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ying Wang
- School of Basic-Medicine and Clinical Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China.,Department of Laboratory Medicine, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, Jiangsu, China
| | - Fang Lu
- School of Basic-Medicine and Clinical Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China.,Department of Laboratory Medicine, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xianghong Zhao
- School of Basic-Medicine and Clinical Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China.,Department of Laboratory Medicine, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, Jiangsu, China
| | - Zhenlin Nie
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Bangshun He
- School of Basic-Medicine and Clinical Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China. .,Department of Laboratory Medicine, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, Jiangsu, China.
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29
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Mutka M, Joensuu K, Eray M, Heikkilä P. Quantities of CD3+, CD8+ and CD56+ lymphocytes decline in breast cancer recurrences while CD4+ remain similar. Diagn Pathol 2023; 18:3. [PMID: 36627701 PMCID: PMC9830729 DOI: 10.1186/s13000-022-01278-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Much is known about tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (Tils) in primary breast cancer, as this has been the focus of much research in recent years, but regarding recurrent breast cancer, only few studies have been done. Our aim was to compare the quantities of Tils in primary breast carcinomas and their corresponding recurrences and to analyze the differences in the tumor Tils compositions in correlations with recurrence-free times and the clinicopathology of the tumor. METHODS One hundred thirty-seven breast cancer patients self-paired for primary- tumor-recurrence were divided into three groups based on the length of the recurrence-free interval. H&E-staining and immunohistochemical staining with antiCD3, antiCD4, antiCD8 and antiCD56 were performed. Differences in Tils between primaries and recurrences, between the recurrence-free interval groups, and between different clinicopathologic parameters were statistically analyzed. RESULTS Fewer stromal CD3+, CD8+ and CD56+ lymphocytes were found at recurrences compared to the primaries. No significant change in the percentage of CD4+ stromal lymphocytes. ER-negative primaries, PR-negative or HER2-positive tumors had more Tils in some subgroups. Ductal primaries had more Tils than lobular primaries and G3 tumors had more Tils than lower-grade tumors. The corresponding differences at recurrences could either not be detected or they were reversed. The fastest recurring group had generally more Tils than the slower groups. CONCLUSIONS CD4+ cell numbers did not decline from primary to recurrence in contrast to all other subclasses of lymphocytes. The proportion of CD4+ cells was higher in recurrences than in primaries. Tumors with a higher grade and proliferation rate had higher percentages of Tils. HER2+ and hormone receptor negative tumors tended to have higher Tils scores. In recurrences these differences were not seen or they were reversed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minna Mutka
- grid.7737.40000 0004 0410 2071Department of Pathology, HUSLAB, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, FIN-00290 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Kristiina Joensuu
- grid.7737.40000 0004 0410 2071University of Helsinki, FIN-00290 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Mine Eray
- grid.7737.40000 0004 0410 2071Department of Pathology, HUSLAB, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, FIN-00290 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Päivi Heikkilä
- grid.7737.40000 0004 0410 2071Department of Pathology, HUSLAB, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, FIN-00290 Helsinki, Finland
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30
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Zhang J, Jin H, Pan S, Han C, Sun Q, Han X. Immune checkpoints expression patterns in early-stage triple-negative breast cancer predict prognosis and remodel the tumor immune microenvironment. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1073550. [PMID: 36814908 PMCID: PMC9939840 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1073550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Currently, targeting immune checkpoint molecules holds great promise for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, the expression landscape of immune checkpoint genes (ICGs) in TNBC remains largely unknown. Method Herein, we systematically investigated the ICGs expression patterns in 422 TNBC samples. We evaluated the ICGs molecular typing based on the ICGs expression profile and explored the associations between ICGs molecular subtypes and tumor immune characteristics, clinical significance, and response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Results Two ICGs clusters and two ICGs-related gene clusters were determined, which were involved in different survival outcomes, biological roles and infiltration levels of immune cells. We established a quantification system ICGs riskscore (named IRS) to assess the ICGs expression patterns for individuals. TNBC patients with lower IRS were characterized by increased immune cell infiltration, favorable clinical outcomes and high sensitivity to ICIs therapy. We also developed a nomogram model combining clinicopathological variables to predict overall survival in TNBC. Genomic feature analysis revealed that high IRS group presented an increased tumor mutation burden compared with the low IRS group. Conclusion Collectively, dissecting the ICGs expression patterns not only provides a new insight into TNBC subtypes but also deepens the understanding of ICGs in the tumor immune microenvironment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinguo Zhang
- Department of Medical Oncology, Anhui Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.,Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Hongwei Jin
- Department of Medical Oncology, Anhui Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.,Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.,School of Medical Oncology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Shuaikang Pan
- Department of Medical Oncology, Anhui Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.,School of Medical Oncology, Wan Nan Medical College, Wuhu, China
| | - Chaoqiang Han
- Department of Medical Oncology, Anhui Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Qingqing Sun
- Department of Medical Oncology, Anhui Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.,Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.,School of Medical Oncology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Xinghua Han
- Department of Medical Oncology, Anhui Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.,Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.,School of Medical Oncology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
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31
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Tsai HY, Tsai TY, Wu CH, Chung WS, Wang JC, Hsu JS, Hou MF, Chou MC. Integration of Clinical and CT-Based Radiomic Features for Pretreatment Prediction of Pathologic Complete Response to Neoadjuvant Systemic Therapy in Breast Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14246261. [PMID: 36551746 PMCID: PMC9777141 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14246261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to examine the potential of a machine learning model with integrated clinical and CT-based radiomics features in predicting pathologic complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NST) in breast cancer. Contrast-enhanced CT was performed in 329 patients with breast tumors (n = 331) before NST. Pyradiomics was used for feature extraction, and 107 features of seven classes were extracted. Feature selection was performed on the basis of the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and six ICC thresholds (0.7−0.95) were examined to identify the feature set resulting in optimal model performance. Clinical factors, such as age, clinical stage, cancer cell type, and cell surface receptors, were used for prediction. We tried six machine learning algorithms, and clinical, radiomics, and clinical−radiomics models were trained for each algorithm. Radiomics and clinical−radiomics models with gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) features only were also built for comparison. The linear support vector machine (SVM) regression model trained with radiomics features of ICC ≥0.85 in combination with clinical factors performed the best (AUC = 0.87). The performance of the clinical and radiomics linear SVM models showed statistically significant difference after correction for multiple comparisons (AUC = 0.69 vs. 0.78; p < 0.001). The AUC of the radiomics model trained with GLCM features was significantly lower than that of the radiomics model trained with all seven classes of radiomics features (AUC = 0.85 vs. 0.87; p = 0.011). Integration of clinical and CT-based radiomics features was helpful in the pretreatment prediction of pCR to NST in breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huei-Yi Tsai
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Imaging, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
- Center for Big Data Research, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
| | - Tsung-Yu Tsai
- Department of Medical Imaging, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Hui Wu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Shiuan Chung
- Department of Medical Imaging, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Imaging, Kaohsiung Municipal Siaogang Hospital, Kaohsiung 812, Taiwan
| | - Jo-Ching Wang
- Department of Medical Imaging, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
| | - Jui-Sheng Hsu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Feng Hou
- Department of Biomedical Science and Environmental Biology, College of Life Science, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Chung Chou
- Center for Big Data Research, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Science, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +886-7-312-1101 (ext. 2357-23)
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32
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Maus RLG, Leontovich AA, Moore RM, Fogarty Z, Guo R, Davidson TM, Tekin B, Atherton C, Schimke JM, Dicke BA, Chen BJ, Markovic SN. Quantitative spatial evaluation of tumor-immune interactions in the immunotherapy setting of metastatic melanoma lymph nodes. Front Immunol 2022; 13:1024039. [PMID: 36544759 PMCID: PMC9760971 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1024039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Immune cell infiltration into the tumor microenvironment is generally associated with favorable clinical outcomes in solid tumors. However, the dynamic interplay among distinct immune cell subsets within the tumor-immune microenvironment as it relates to clinical responses to immunotherapy remains unresolved. In this study, we applied multiplex immunofluorescence (MxIF) to spatially characterize tumor-immune interactions within the metastatic melanoma lymph node. Methods Pretreatment, whole lymph node biopsies were evaluated from 25 patients with regionally metastatic melanoma who underwent subsequent anti-PD1 therapy. Cyclic MxIF was applied to quantitatively and spatially assess expression of 45 pathologist-validated antibodies on a single tissue section. Pixel-based single cell segmentation and a supervised classifier approach resolved 10 distinct tumor, stromal and immune cell phenotypes and functional expression of PD1. Results Single cell analysis across 416 pathologist-annotated tumor core regions of interest yielded 5.5 million cells for spatial evaluation. Cellular composition of tumor and immune cell subsets did not differ in the tumor core with regards to recurrence outcomes (p>0.05) however spatial patterns significantly differed in regional and paracrine neighborhood evaluations. Specifically, a regional community cluster comprised of primarily tumor and dendritic cells was enriched in patients that did not experience recurrence (p=0.009). By an independent spatial approach, cell-centric neighborhood analyses identified an enrichment for dendritic cells in cytotoxic T cell (CTL) and tumor cell-centric neighborhoods in the no recurrence patient response group (p<0.0001). Further evaluation of these neighborhoods identified an enrichment for CTL-dendritic cell interactions in patients that did not experience recurrence (p<0.0001) whereas CTL-macrophage interactions were more prevalent in CTL-centric neighborhoods of patients who experienced recurrence (p<0.0001). Discussion Overall, this study offers a more comprehensive evaluation of immune infiltrates and spatial-immune signatures in the metastatic tumor-immune microenvironment as it informs recurrence risk following immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel L. G. Maus
- Department of Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States,*Correspondence: Rachel L. G. Maus,
| | | | - Raymond M. Moore
- Department of Computational Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Zachary Fogarty
- Department of Computational Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Ruifeng Guo
- Department of Anatomic Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Tara M. Davidson
- Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Burak Tekin
- Department of Anatomic Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Chathu Atherton
- Department of Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Jill M. Schimke
- Department of Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Betty A. Dicke
- Department of Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Benjamin J. Chen
- Department of Translational Research Pathology, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cambridge, MA, United States
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Massa D, Tosi A, Rosato A, Guarneri V, Dieci MV. Multiplexed In Situ Spatial Protein Profiling in the Pursuit of Precision Immuno-Oncology for Patients with Breast Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:4885. [PMID: 36230808 PMCID: PMC9562913 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14194885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2022] [Revised: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized the treatment of many solid tumors. In breast cancer (BC), immunotherapy is currently approved in combination with chemotherapy, albeit only in triple-negative breast cancer. Unfortunately, most patients only derive limited benefit from ICIs, progressing either upfront or after an initial response. Therapeutics must engage with a heterogeneous network of complex stromal-cancer interactions that can fail at imposing cancer immune control in multiple domains, such as in the genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic domains. To overcome these types of heterogeneous resistance phenotypes, several combinatorial strategies are underway. Still, they can be predicted to be effective only in the subgroups of patients in which those specific resistance mechanisms are effectively in place. As single biomarker predictive performances are necessarily suboptimal at capturing the complexity of this articulate network, precision immune-oncology calls for multi-omics tumor microenvironment profiling in order to identify unique predictive patterns and to proactively tailor combinatorial treatments. Multiplexed single-cell spatially resolved tissue analysis, through precise epitope colocalization, allows one to infer cellular functional states in view of their spatial organization. In this review, we discuss-through the lens of the cancer-immunity cycle-selected, established, and emerging markers that may be evaluated in multiplexed spatial protein panels to help identify prognostic and predictive patterns in BC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Massa
- Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, 35128 Padova, Italy
- Division of Oncology 2, Istituto Oncologico Veneto IRCCS, 35128 Padova, Italy
| | - Anna Tosi
- Immunology and Molecular Oncology Diagnostics, Istituto Oncologico Veneto IRCCS, 35128 Padova, Italy
| | - Antonio Rosato
- Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, 35128 Padova, Italy
- Immunology and Molecular Oncology Diagnostics, Istituto Oncologico Veneto IRCCS, 35128 Padova, Italy
| | - Valentina Guarneri
- Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, 35128 Padova, Italy
- Division of Oncology 2, Istituto Oncologico Veneto IRCCS, 35128 Padova, Italy
| | - Maria Vittoria Dieci
- Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, 35128 Padova, Italy
- Division of Oncology 2, Istituto Oncologico Veneto IRCCS, 35128 Padova, Italy
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Li S, Zhang Y, Zhang P, Xue S, Chen Y, Sun L, Yang R. Predictive and prognostic values of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in breast cancers treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy: A meta-analysis. Breast 2022; 66:97-109. [PMID: 36219945 PMCID: PMC9550538 DOI: 10.1016/j.breast.2022.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Revised: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND This meta-analysis assessed the predictive and prognostic value of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) treated breast cancer and an optimal threshold for predicting pathologic complete response (pCR). METHODS A systematic search of PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science electronic databases was conducted to identify eligible studies published before April 2022. Either a fixed or random effects model was applied to estimate the pooled hazard ratio (HR) and odds ratio (OR) for prognosis and predictive values of TILs in breast cancer patients treated with NACT. The study is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020221521). RESULTS A total of 29 published studies were eligible. Increased levels of TILs predicted response to NACT in HER2 positive breast cancer (OR = 2.54 95%CI, 1.50-4.29) and triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) (OR = 3.67, 95%CI, 1.93-6.97), but not for hormone receptor (HR) positive breast cancer (OR = 1.68, 95 %CI, 0.67-4.25). A threshold of 20% of H & E-stained TILs was associated with prediction of pCR in both HER2 positive breast cancer (P = 0.035) and TNBC (P = 0.001). Moreover, increased levels of TILs (either iTILs or sTILs) were associated with survival benefit in HER2-positive breast cancer and TNBC. However, an increased level of TILs was not a prognostic factor for survival in HR positive breast cancer (pooled HR = 0.64, 95%CI: 0.03-14.1, P = 0.78). CONCLUSIONS Increased levels of TILs were associated with increased rates of response to NACT and improved prognosis for the molecular subtypes of TNBC and HER2-positive breast cancer, but not for patients with HR positive breast cancer. A threshold of 20% TILs was the most powerful outcome prognosticator of pCR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiqi Li
- Department of Pharmacy Administration, School of Business Administration, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Ying Zhang
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Life Sciences and Biopharmaceuticals, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Peigen Zhang
- Department of Pharmacy Administration, School of Business Administration, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Shuijing Xue
- Department of Pharmacy Administration, School of Business Administration, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Yu Chen
- Department of Pharmacy Administration, School of Business Administration, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Lihua Sun
- Department of Pharmacy Administration, School of Business Administration, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China,Corresponding author. Department of pharmacy administration, School of Business Administration, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, 103 Wen hua Road, Shenyang, 110016, Liaoning Province, PR China.
| | - Rui Yang
- Clinical Pharmacology Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, 110034, China
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The Impact of Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes Densities and Ki67 Index on Residual Breast Cancer Burden following Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy. Int J Breast Cancer 2022; 2022:2597889. [PMID: 36133828 PMCID: PMC9484975 DOI: 10.1155/2022/2597889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
To avoid unnecessary neoadjuvant chemotherapy in case anticipating a poor therapy response, it is essential to find the pathological parameters that would predict pathological complete response or at least a decrease in tumor burden following neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The purpose of this study is to investigate the hypothesis that tumor infiltrating lymphocytes can predict the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and to find the Ki67 cutoff value that best predicts the benefit of chemotherapy. 153 cases of breast cancer were chosen, based on their molecular subtype: triple negative subtype (77) and luminal, HER2-ve subtype (76). Histopathological assessment of pretherapy core biopsies was conducted to assess variable pathological parameters including TILs rates with the aid of immunohistochemical staining for CD20 and CD3. Moreover, core biopsies were stained for Ki67, and the findings were compared to the residual cancer burden following neoadjuvant chemotherapy. On analyzing and contrasting the two groups, a significant association between molecular subtype and pathological complete response was confirmed, while tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in either group had no effect on therapy response. We used receiver operating characteristic curve analysis to determine that a cutoff of 36% for Ki67 is the most accurate value to predict complete therapy response.
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Predictive biomarkers for molecularly targeted therapies and immunotherapies in breast cancer. Arch Pharm Res 2022; 45:597-617. [PMID: 35982262 DOI: 10.1007/s12272-022-01402-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 08/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Globally, breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. Substantial efforts have been made to develop novel therapies, including targeted therapies and immunotherapies, for patients with breast cancer who do not respond to standard therapies. Consequently, new targeted therapies, such as cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 inhibitors, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors, phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibitor, and antibody-drug conjugates targeting human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 or trophoblast cell surface antigen-2, and immune checkpoint inhibitor targeting programmed cell death-1, have been developed and are now in clinical use. However, only some patients have benefited from these novel therapies; therefore, the identification and validation of reliable or more accurate biomarkers for predicting responses to these agents remain a major challenge. This review summarizes the currently available predictive biomarkers for breast cancer and describes recent efforts undertaken to identify potential predictive markers for molecularly targeted therapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors.
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Shen K, Yao L, Zhu J, Gu X, Wang J, Qian W, Zheng Z, Fu D, Wu S. Impact of adjuvant chemotherapy on T1N0M0 breast cancer patients: a propensity score matching study based on SEER database and external cohort. BMC Cancer 2022; 22:863. [PMID: 35941565 PMCID: PMC9358893 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-022-09952-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2021] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Background There is no clear consensus on the benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy for tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage T1 (T1N0M0) breast cancer (BC). Our study investigated the effects of adjuvant chemotherapy on T1N0M0 BC patients. Methods Seventy-five thousand one hundred thirty-nine patients diagnosed with T1N0M0 BC were selected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Multivariate Cox analyses were performed to investigate the effects of adjuvant chemotherapy on T1a, T1b, and T1cN0M0 BC, including various tumor grades, and four molecular subtypes. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to eliminate confounding factors and further compare the results between adjuvant chemotherapy and no adjuvant chemotherapy. Additionally, 545 T1N0M0 BC patients treated at the Northern Jiangsu People’s Hospital were included as an independent external validation cohort. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were used to confirm the effects of adjuvant chemotherapy in T1a, T1b, and T1cN0M0 BC. Survival curves for the different tumor grades and molecular subtypes were plotted using the Kaplan–Meier method. Results Adjuvant chemotherapy demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in overall survival (OS) in T1b and T1c BC, but not in T1a BC. Within T1b BC, adjuvant chemotherapy was found to have effects on grade III, and hormone receptor + (HoR +)/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 + (HER2 +), HoR-/HER2 + , and HoR-/HER2- molecular subtypes, respectively. Adjuvant chemotherapy was beneficial to OS for grade II/III and T1c BC. Identical results were obtained after PSM. We also obtained similar results with external validation cohort, except that adjuvant chemotherapy made a difference in grade II and T1b BC of the external validation dataset. Conclusions Partial T1N0M0 BC patients with grade III T1bN0M0, patients with tumor grade II and III T1cN0M0, and excluding those with HoR + /HER2- subtype tumors, could obtain OS benefits from adjuvant chemotherapy. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-022-09952-z.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaiwen Shen
- Department of General Surgery, Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Kunshan, Suzhou, 215000, Jiangsu, China
| | - Longdi Yao
- Department of General Surgery, Changxing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Huzhou, 313100, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jingyuan Zhu
- Department of General Surgery, Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Kunshan, Suzhou, 215000, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ximing Gu
- Department of General Surgery, Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Kunshan, Suzhou, 215000, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jie Wang
- Department of General Surgery, Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Kunshan, Suzhou, 215000, Jiangsu, China
| | - Wei Qian
- Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, Jiangsu, China
| | - Zhijian Zheng
- Department of General Surgery, The First People's Hospital of Wenling, Wenling, 317500, Zhejiang, China
| | - Deyuan Fu
- Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital, Yangzhou University Medical Academy, Guangling District, Nantong Xi Road, Yangzhou, 225001, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Song Wu
- Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The First People's Hospital of Wenling, Chuanan Nan Road, Chengxi Street, Wenling, 317500, Zhejiang, China.
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Hacking SM, Yakirevich E, Wang Y. From Immunohistochemistry to New Digital Ecosystems: A State-of-the-Art Biomarker Review for Precision Breast Cancer Medicine. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14143469. [PMID: 35884530 PMCID: PMC9315712 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14143469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Revised: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary In this state-of-the-art breast biomarker review, we have tried to imagine and illustrate future, emerging digital breast cancer ecosystems which allow for greater incorporation of traditional immunohistochemical and molecular biomarkers, WSI, and radiomic features. Abstract Breast cancers represent complex ecosystem-like networks of malignant cells and their associated microenvironment. Estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) are biomarkers ubiquitous to clinical practice in evaluating prognosis and predicting response to therapy. Recent feats in breast cancer have led to a new digital era, and advanced clinical trials have resulted in a growing number of personalized therapies with corresponding biomarkers. In this state-of-the-art review, we included the latest 10-year updated recommendations for ER, PR, and HER2, along with the most salient information on tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), Ki-67, PD-L1, and several prognostic/predictive biomarkers at genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic levels recently developed for selection and optimization of breast cancer treatment. Looking forward, the multi-omic landscape of the tumor ecosystem could be integrated with computational findings from whole slide images and radiomics in predictive machine learning (ML) models. These are new digital ecosystems on the road to precision breast cancer medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Yihong Wang
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-401-444-9897; Fax: +1-401-444-4377
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Sakalauskaitė S, Riškevičienė V, Šengaut J, Juodžiukynienė N. Association of mast cell density, microvascular density and endothelial area with clinicopathological parameters and prognosis in canine mammary gland carcinomas. Acta Vet Scand 2022; 64:14. [PMID: 35761297 PMCID: PMC9235230 DOI: 10.1186/s13028-022-00633-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Mast cell density has been shown to have both enhancing and inhibiting effects on tumour progression and the ability to predict breast cancer behaviour in humans. However, prognostic results have been contradictory. Some previous studies suggested involvement of mast cells in the progression of canine mammary tumours. This study investigated total, intratumoural and peritumoural mast cell densities by Giemsa staining, and their association with clinicopathological parameters and the disease outcome of canine mammary tumours. In addition, since mast cells promote angiogenesis, the microvascular density and endothelial area were evaluated by CD31 immunostaining. Results Intratumoural mast cell density was associated with tumour size, lymph node involvement and tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte count, while peritumoural mast cell density was associated with grade. The endothelial area was associated with grade, mitotic index, tubular formation and proliferation index. Tumours with a high grade, high total intratumoural mast cell density and a larger endothelial area were associated with shorter disease-free survival. Intratumoural mast cell density and grade were found to be independent prognostic factors. Conclusions These results suggest that intratumoural mast cell density and the endothelial area can be used to evaluate the aggressiveness of canine mammary carcinomas, while intratumoural mast cell density could be of use as an independent predictor of a prognosis of disease-free survival. Peritumoural mast cell density does not seem to influence tumour behaviour.
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Justesen TF, Orhan A, Raskov H, Nolsoe C, Gögenur I. Electroporation and Immunotherapy-Unleashing the Abscopal Effect. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14122876. [PMID: 35740542 PMCID: PMC9221311 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14122876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Electrochemotherapy and irreversible electroporation are primarily used for treating patients with cutaneous and subcutaneous tumors and pancreatic cancer, respectively. Increasing numbers of studies have shown that the treatments may elicit an immune response in addition to eliminating the tumor cells. The purpose of this review is to give an in-depth introduction to the electroporation-induced immune response and the local and peripheral immune systems, and to describe the various studies investigating the combination of electroporation and immunotherapy. The review may help guide and inspire the design of future clinical trials investigating the potential synergy of electroporation and immunotherapy in cancer treatment. Abstract The discovery of electroporation in 1968 has led to the development of electrochemotherapy (ECT) and irreversible electroporation (IRE). ECT and IRE have been established as treatments of cutaneous and subcutaneous tumors and locally advanced pancreatic cancer, respectively. Interestingly, the treatment modalities have been shown to elicit immunogenic cell death, which in turn can induce an immune response towards the tumor cells. With the dawn of the immunotherapy era, the potential of combining ECT and IRE with immunotherapy has led to the launch of numerous studies. Data from the first clinical trials are promising, and new combination regimes might change the way we treat tumors characterized by low immunogenicity and high levels of immunosuppression, such as melanoma and pancreatic cancer. In this review we will give an introduction to ECT and IRE and discuss the impact on the immune system. Additionally, we will present the results of clinical and preclinical trials, investigating the combination of electroporation modalities and immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Freyberg Justesen
- Center for Surgical Science, Zealand University Hospital, Lykkebækvej 1, 4600 Køge, Denmark; (A.O.); (H.R.); (I.G.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Adile Orhan
- Center for Surgical Science, Zealand University Hospital, Lykkebækvej 1, 4600 Køge, Denmark; (A.O.); (H.R.); (I.G.)
| | - Hans Raskov
- Center for Surgical Science, Zealand University Hospital, Lykkebækvej 1, 4600 Køge, Denmark; (A.O.); (H.R.); (I.G.)
| | - Christian Nolsoe
- Center for Surgical Ultrasound, Department of Surgery, Zealand University Hospital, Lykkebækvej 1, 4600 Køge, Denmark;
- Copenhagen Academy for Medical Education and Simulation (CAMES), University of Copenhagen and the Capital Region of Denmark, Ryesgade 53B, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ismail Gögenur
- Center for Surgical Science, Zealand University Hospital, Lykkebækvej 1, 4600 Køge, Denmark; (A.O.); (H.R.); (I.G.)
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
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Zhang LP, Lin H, Wang AJ. Development and validation of a nomogram to predict survival for advanced male breast cancer. Andrologia 2022; 54:e14479. [PMID: 35618959 DOI: 10.1111/and.14479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Male breast cancer is a rare disease. Many experiences of male breast cancer were derived of female breast cancer. However, there are huge differences between two groups. We conducted this study to find a reliable prognostic model for advanced male breast cancer. The cohort was selected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. The enrolled patients were randomly divided into training and validation group. The univariate and multivariate analyses were used for prognostic assessment and a nomogram was built. Calibration curves and concordance index were compiled to determine predictive and discriminatory capacity. The time-dependent receiver operating curves and the decision curve analysis was used to verify the model's ability. Two hundred and eighty individuals were enrolled. The cumulative rates of 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 98.6%, 72% and 57.9%. The C-indexes for OS were 0.835 (95%CI, 0.777-0.893) in the training group and 0.765 (95%CI, 0.668-0.862) in the validation group. The calibration curves confirmed the consistency of the nomogram both in the training and validation group. The time-dependent receiver operating curves and decision curve analysis demonstrated that the nomogram had better prediction capacity than TNM stage system for advanced male breast cancer. The nomogram we built was a reliable and solid predictive model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Ping Zhang
- Department of Oncology, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Foshan, People's Republic of China
| | - Hui Lin
- Department of Oncology, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Foshan, People's Republic of China
| | - Ai-Jing Wang
- Department of Oncology, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Foshan, People's Republic of China
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Reassessment of Reliability and Reproducibility for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Subtyping. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14112571. [PMID: 35681552 PMCID: PMC9179838 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14112571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2022] [Revised: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous disease. A proper classification system is needed to develop targetable biomarkers and guide personalized treatment in clinical practice. However, there has been no consensus on the molecular subtypes of TNBC, probably due to discrepancies in technical and computational methods chosen by different research groups. In this paper, we reassessed each major step for TNBC subtyping and provided suggestions, which promote rational workflow design and ensure reliable and reproducible results for future studies. We presented a recommended pipeline to the existing data, validated established TNBC subtypes with a larger sample size, and revealed two intermediate subtypes with prognostic significance. This work provides perspectives on issues and limitations regarding TNBC subtyping, indicating promising directions for developing targeted therapy based on the molecular characteristics of each TNBC subtype. Abstract Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous disease with diverse, often poor prognoses and treatment responses. In order to identify targetable biomarkers and guide personalized care, scientists have developed multiple molecular classification systems for TNBC based on transcriptomic profiling. However, there is no consensus on the molecular subtypes of TNBC, likely due to discrepancies in technical and computational methods used by different research groups. Here, we reassessed the major steps for TNBC subtyping, validated the reproducibility of established TNBC subtypes, and identified two more subtypes with a larger sample size. By comparing results from different workflows, we demonstrated the limitations of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples, as well as batch effect removal across microarray platforms. We also refined the usage of computational tools for TNBC subtyping. Furthermore, we integrated high-quality multi-institutional TNBC datasets (discovery set: n = 457; validation set: n = 165). Performing unsupervised clustering on the discovery and validation sets independently, we validated four previously discovered subtypes: luminal androgen receptor, mesenchymal, immunomodulatory, and basal-like immunosuppressed. Additionally, we identified two potential intermediate states of TNBC tumors based on their resemblance with more than one well-characterized subtype. In summary, we addressed the issues and limitations of previous TNBC subtyping through comprehensive analyses. Our results promote the rational design of future subtyping studies and provide new insights into TNBC patient stratification.
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Fassler DJ, Torre-Healy LA, Gupta R, Hamilton AM, Kobayashi S, Van Alsten SC, Zhang Y, Kurc T, Moffitt RA, Troester MA, Hoadley KA, Saltz J. Spatial Characterization of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes and Breast Cancer Progression. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:2148. [PMID: 35565277 PMCID: PMC9105398 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14092148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Revised: 04/09/2022] [Accepted: 04/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have been established as a robust prognostic biomarker in breast cancer, with emerging utility in predicting treatment response in the adjuvant and neoadjuvant settings. In this study, the role of TILs in predicting overall survival and progression-free interval was evaluated in two independent cohorts of breast cancer from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA BRCA) and the Carolina Breast Cancer Study (UNC CBCS). We utilized machine learning and computer vision algorithms to characterize TIL infiltrates in digital whole-slide images (WSIs) of breast cancer stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E). Multiple parameters were used to characterize the global abundance and spatial features of TIL infiltrates. Univariate and multivariate analyses show that large aggregates of peritumoral and intratumoral TILs (forests) were associated with longer survival, whereas the absence of intratumoral TILs (deserts) is associated with increased risk of recurrence. Patients with two or more high-risk spatial features were associated with significantly shorter progression-free interval (PFI). This study demonstrates the practical utility of Pathomics in evaluating the clinical significance of the abundance and spatial patterns of distribution of TIL infiltrates as important biomarkers in breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle J. Fassler
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11790, USA; (D.J.F.); (L.A.T.-H.); (R.G.); (S.K.); (Y.Z.); (T.K.); (R.A.M.)
| | - Luke A. Torre-Healy
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11790, USA; (D.J.F.); (L.A.T.-H.); (R.G.); (S.K.); (Y.Z.); (T.K.); (R.A.M.)
| | - Rajarsi Gupta
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11790, USA; (D.J.F.); (L.A.T.-H.); (R.G.); (S.K.); (Y.Z.); (T.K.); (R.A.M.)
| | - Alina M. Hamilton
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (A.M.H.); (S.C.V.A.); (M.A.T.)
| | - Soma Kobayashi
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11790, USA; (D.J.F.); (L.A.T.-H.); (R.G.); (S.K.); (Y.Z.); (T.K.); (R.A.M.)
| | - Sarah C. Van Alsten
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (A.M.H.); (S.C.V.A.); (M.A.T.)
| | - Yuwei Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11790, USA; (D.J.F.); (L.A.T.-H.); (R.G.); (S.K.); (Y.Z.); (T.K.); (R.A.M.)
| | - Tahsin Kurc
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11790, USA; (D.J.F.); (L.A.T.-H.); (R.G.); (S.K.); (Y.Z.); (T.K.); (R.A.M.)
| | - Richard A. Moffitt
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11790, USA; (D.J.F.); (L.A.T.-H.); (R.G.); (S.K.); (Y.Z.); (T.K.); (R.A.M.)
| | - Melissa A. Troester
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (A.M.H.); (S.C.V.A.); (M.A.T.)
| | - Katherine A. Hoadley
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA;
| | - Joel Saltz
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11790, USA; (D.J.F.); (L.A.T.-H.); (R.G.); (S.K.); (Y.Z.); (T.K.); (R.A.M.)
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Gupta RK, Roy AM, Gupta A, Takabe K, Dhakal A, Opyrchal M, Kalinski P, Gandhi S. Systemic Therapy De-Escalation in Early-Stage Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Dawn of a New Era? Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14081856. [PMID: 35454764 PMCID: PMC9025008 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14081856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Triple-negative breast cancer is a life-threatening disease, even when identified at early stages. Recent advances have allowed the improvement of life expectancy via a personalized approach with the addition of newer chemotherapies, immunotherapies, and targeted therapies, but at the cost of added side effects. It has become increasingly clear that not all patients need such aggressive treatment. Here, we provide an overview of emerging opportunities to use less toxic therapies in patients at lower risk of recurrence or with mutations that can be effectively targeted using novel approaches. We provide a comprehensive review of completed and ongoing clinical trials with information on how to best stratify these patients for treatments to obtain maximum benefit without unnecessary toxicities. Abstract Early-stage triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) has been traditionally treated with surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. The current standard of care systemic treatment of early-stage II and III TNBC involves the use of anthracycline-cyclophosphamide and carboplatin-paclitaxel with pembrolizumab in the neoadjuvant setting followed by adjuvant pembrolizumab per KEYNOTE-522. It is increasingly clear that not all patients with early-stage TNBC need this intensive treatment, thus paving the way for exploring opportunities for regimen de-escalation in selected subgroups. For T1a tumors (≤5 mm), chemotherapy is not used, and for tumors 6–10 mm (T1b) in size with negative lymph nodes, retrospective studies have failed to show a significant benefit with chemotherapy. In low-risk patients, anthracycline-free chemotherapy may be as effective as conventional therapy, as shown in some studies where replacing anthracyclines with carboplatin has shown non-inferior results for pathological complete response (pCR), which may form the backbone of future combination therapies. Recent advances in our understanding of TNBC heterogeneity, mutations, and surrogate markers of response such as pCR have enabled the development of multiple treatment options in the (neo)adjuvant setting in order to de-escalate treatment. These de-escalation studies based on tumor mutational status, such as using Poly ADP-ribose polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) in patients with BRCA mutations, and new immunotherapies such as PD1 blockade, have shown a promising impact on pCR. In addition, the investigational use of (bio)markers, such as high levels of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), low levels of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), and complete remission on imaging, also look promising. In this review, we cover the current standard of care systemic treatment of early TNBC and review the opportunities for treatment de-escalation based on clinical risk factors, biomarkers, mutational status, and molecular subtype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravi Kumar Gupta
- Department of Internal Medicine, Larkin Community Hospital, South Miami, FL 33143, USA;
| | - Arya Mariam Roy
- Department of Medicine, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA; (A.M.R.); (A.G.); (P.K.)
| | - Ashish Gupta
- Department of Medicine, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA; (A.M.R.); (A.G.); (P.K.)
| | - Kazuaki Takabe
- Department of Immunology and Surgical Oncology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA;
- Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan
- Department of Surgery, Niigata University Graduate School of Medicine and Dental Sciences, Niigata 951-8510, Japan
- Department of Breast Surgery and Oncology, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo 160-8402, Japan
- Department of Surgery, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA
| | - Ajay Dhakal
- Department of Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14648, USA;
| | - Mateusz Opyrchal
- Department of Medicine, Indiana University Simons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA;
| | - Pawel Kalinski
- Department of Medicine, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA; (A.M.R.); (A.G.); (P.K.)
- Department of Immunology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA
| | - Shipra Gandhi
- Department of Medicine, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA; (A.M.R.); (A.G.); (P.K.)
- Department of Immunology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-(716)-845-1686
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Jimenez JE, Abdelhafez A, Mittendorf EA, Elshafeey N, Yung JP, Litton JK, Adrada BE, Candelaria RP, White J, Thompson AM, Huo L, Wei P, Tripathy D, Valero V, Yam C, Hazle JD, Moulder SL, Yang WT, Rauch GM. A model combining pretreatment MRI radiomic features and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes to predict response to neoadjuvant systemic therapy in triple-negative breast cancer. Eur J Radiol 2022; 149:110220. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2022.110220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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Alexandra G, Alexandru M, Stefan CF, Petruta-Maria D, Gabriel BM, Dragos-Eugen G, Teodor GM. Blood Group Type Association with Head and Neck Cancer. Hematol Rep 2022; 14:24-30. [PMID: 35323176 PMCID: PMC8954807 DOI: 10.3390/hematolrep14010005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: We conducted an analysis to check whether the ABO blood group impacts the susceptibility or protection against different types of head and neck cancers. Method: We analyzed the medical records of 61,899 cancer patients from “Prof. Dr. Alexandru Trestioreanu” Institute of Oncology from Bucharest, along with the corresponding blood group type. Data were scraped using Python. For analysis, we used Chi-square test. Results: The blood group count was A (245, 45.12%) followed by 0 (160, 24.66%), B (110, 20.26%), and AB (28, 5.16%). Hypopharyngeal cancer was associated with B group, oral cavity cancer was associated with a lower risk in patients with B group while AB patients had a higher risk for oral cavity cancer (χ2 = 36.136, df = 18, p = 0.007). Conclusion: Blood group B is associated with an increased incidence for hypopharyngeal cancer, whereas, for the oral cavity, was associated lower incidence. Blood antigen A is associated with a higher risk of oral cavity cancer development, independent of B blood antigen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaube Alexandra
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases "Prof. Dr. Matei Bals", 021105 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Michire Alexandru
- Department 8 Radiology, Oncology, Hematology, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bulevardul Eroii Sanitari 8, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
- Radiation Therapy Department, "Prof. Dr. Al. Trestioreanu" Oncology Institute, Sos. Fundeni No. 252, 022328 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Calangiu Filip Stefan
- Radiation Therapy Department, "Prof. Dr. Al. Trestioreanu" Oncology Institute, Sos. Fundeni No. 252, 022328 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Draghia Petruta-Maria
- Radiation Therapy Department, "Prof. Dr. Al. Trestioreanu" Oncology Institute, Sos. Fundeni No. 252, 022328 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Burlacu Mihnea Gabriel
- Radiation Therapy Department, "Prof. Dr. Al. Trestioreanu" Oncology Institute, Sos. Fundeni No. 252, 022328 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Georgescu Dragos-Eugen
- Department 8 Radiology, Oncology, Hematology, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bulevardul Eroii Sanitari 8, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
- Clinical Hospital "Dr Ion Cantacuzino", 030167 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Georgescu Mihai Teodor
- Department 8 Radiology, Oncology, Hematology, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bulevardul Eroii Sanitari 8, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
- Radiation Therapy Department, "Prof. Dr. Al. Trestioreanu" Oncology Institute, Sos. Fundeni No. 252, 022328 Bucharest, Romania
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Alhesa A, Awad H, Bloukh S, Al-Balas M, El-Sadoni M, Qattan D, Azab B, Saleh T. PD-L1 expression in breast invasive ductal carcinoma with incomplete pathological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol 2022; 36:3946320221078433. [PMID: 35225058 PMCID: PMC8891930 DOI: 10.1177/03946320221078433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives: To investigate the expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in breast cancer in association with incomplete pathological response (PR) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Methods PD-L1 expression was evaluated using immunohistochemistry in post-operative, post-NAC samples of 60 patients (n = 60) diagnosed with breast invasive ductal carcinoma with incomplete PR to NAC, including 31 matched pre-NAC and post-NAC samples (n = 31). PD-L1 protein expression was assessed using three scoring approaches, including the tumor proportion score (TPS), the immune cell score (ICS), and the combined tumor and immune cell score (combined positive score, CPS) with a 1% cut-off. Results In the post-operative, post-NAC samples (n = 60), positive expression rate of PD-L1 was observed in 18.3% (11/60) of cases by TPS, 31.7% (19/60) by ICS, and 25% (15/60) by CPS. In matched samples, positive expression rate of PD-L1 was observed in 19.3% (6/31) of patients by TPS, 51.6% (16/31) by ICS, and 19.3% (6/31) by CPS in pre-NAC specimens, while it was observed in 22.6% (7/31) of matched post-NAC samples by TPS, 22.6% (7/31) by ICS, and 19.3% (6/31) by CPS. In the matched samples, there was a significant decrease in PD-L1 immunoexpression using ICS in post-NAC specimens (McNemar’s, p = 0.020), while no significant differences were found using TPS and CPS between pre- and post-NAC samples (p = 1.000, p = 0.617; respectively). PD-L1 immunoexpression determined by TPS or CPS was only significantly associated with ER status (p = 0.022, p = 0.021; respectively), but not with other clinicopathological variables. We could not establish a correlation between PD-L1 expression and the overall survival rate (p > 0.05). There were no significant differences in the tumor infiltrating lymphocytes count between the paired pre- and post-NAC samples (t = 0.581, p = 0.563 or Wilcoxon’s Signed Rank test; z = -0.625, p = 0.529). Conclusion Our findings indicate that PD-L1 protein expression in infiltrating immune cells was significantly reduced in breast tumors that developed incomplete PR following the exposure to NAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmad Alhesa
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
| | - Heyam Awad
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
| | - Sarah Bloukh
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
| | - Mahmoud Al-Balas
- Department of General and Specialized Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
| | - Mohammed El-Sadoni
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
| | - Duaa Qattan
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
| | - Bilal Azab
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Tareq Saleh
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
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Maisel BA, Yi M, Peck AR, Sun Y, Hooke JA, Kovatich AJ, Shriver CD, Hu H, Nevalainen MT, Tanaka T, Simone N, Wang LL, Rui H, Chervoneva I. Spatial Metrics of Interaction between CD163-Positive Macrophages and Cancer Cells and Progression-Free Survival in Chemo-Treated Breast Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:308. [PMID: 35053472 PMCID: PMC8773496 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14020308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Revised: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) promote progression of breast cancer and other solid malignancies via immunosuppressive, pro-angiogenic and pro-metastatic effects. Tumor-promoting TAMs tend to express M2-like macrophage markers, including CD163. Histopathological assessments suggest that the density of CD163-positive TAMs within the tumor microenvironment is associated with reduced efficacy of chemotherapy and unfavorable prognosis. However, previous analyses have required research-oriented pathologists to visually enumerate CD163+ TAMs, which is both laborious and subjective and hampers clinical implementation. Objective, operator-independent image analysis methods to quantify TAM-associated information are needed. In addition, since M2-like TAMs exert local effects on cancer cells through direct juxtacrine cell-to-cell interactions, paracrine signaling, and metabolic factors, we hypothesized that spatial metrics of adjacency of M2-like TAMs to breast cancer cells will have further information value. Immunofluorescence histo-cytometry of CD163+ TAMs was performed retrospectively on tumor microarrays of 443 cases of invasive breast cancer from patients who subsequently received adjuvant chemotherapy. An objective and automated algorithm was developed to phenotype CD163+ TAMs and calculate their density within the tumor stroma and derive several spatial metrics of interaction with cancer cells. Shorter progression-free survival was associated with a high density of CD163+ TAMs, shorter median cancer-to-CD163+ nearest neighbor distance, and a high number of either directly adjacent CD163+ TAMs (within juxtacrine proximity <12 μm to cancer cells) or communicating CD163+ TAMs (within paracrine communication distance <250 μm to cancer cells) after multivariable adjustment for clinical and pathological risk factors and correction for optimistic bias due to dichotomization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brenton A. Maisel
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA; (B.A.M.); (M.Y.)
| | - Misung Yi
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA; (B.A.M.); (M.Y.)
| | - Amy R. Peck
- Department of Pathology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA; (A.R.P.); (Y.S.); (M.T.N.)
| | - Yunguang Sun
- Department of Pathology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA; (A.R.P.); (Y.S.); (M.T.N.)
| | - Jeffrey A. Hooke
- John P. Murtha Cancer Center, Uniformed Services University and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; (J.A.H.); (A.J.K.); (C.D.S.)
| | - Albert J. Kovatich
- John P. Murtha Cancer Center, Uniformed Services University and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; (J.A.H.); (A.J.K.); (C.D.S.)
| | - Craig D. Shriver
- John P. Murtha Cancer Center, Uniformed Services University and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; (J.A.H.); (A.J.K.); (C.D.S.)
| | - Hai Hu
- Chan Soon-Shiong Institute of Molecular Medicine at Windber, Windber, PA 15963, USA;
| | - Marja T. Nevalainen
- Department of Pathology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA; (A.R.P.); (Y.S.); (M.T.N.)
| | - Takemi Tanaka
- Department of Pathology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Stephenson Cancer Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA;
| | - Nicole Simone
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA;
| | - Li Lily Wang
- Department of Translational Hematology and Oncology Research, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA;
| | - Hallgeir Rui
- Department of Pathology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA; (A.R.P.); (Y.S.); (M.T.N.)
| | - Inna Chervoneva
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA; (B.A.M.); (M.Y.)
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Hong J, Rui W, Fei X, Chen X, Shen K. Association of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy with pathological complete response and prognosis in patients with breast cancer. Cancer Med 2021; 10:7921-7933. [PMID: 34562054 PMCID: PMC8607245 DOI: 10.1002/cam4.4302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2021] [Revised: 07/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose To evaluate the predictive and prognostic value of tumor‐infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in patients with breast cancer. Patients and methods Consecutive breast cancer patients treated with NAC between August 2008 and November 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. TIL levels were evaluated of invasive tumor samples, and high expression was defined as TILs >10%. Total pathological complete response (pCR) was defined as no invasive tumor in the breast or lymph nodes. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess factors associated with pCR rate, disease‐free survival (DFS), and overall survival. Results A total of 461 patients were included. The mean pre‐NAC TIL level was higher among patients with pCR than among patients without pCR (24.28% ± 2.34% vs. 11.34% ± 0.60%, respectively, p < 0.0001). The multivariate analysis demonstrated that a high pre‐NAC TIL level was an independent risk factor for a higher pCR (odds ratio = 3.92, 95% CI = 2.23–6.90, p < 0.001). Patients with high pre‐NAC TIL levels had a better 5‐year DFS than those with low pre‐NAC TIL levels (84.5% vs. 68.9%, HR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.31–0.81, p = 0.005). The multivariate analysis showed that pre‐NAC TIL (HR = 0.48; 95% CI = 0.29–0.81, p = 0.006) but not post‐NAC TIL (HR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.50–1.59, p = 0.699) was significantly associated with DFS among patients without pCR. Furthermore, patients with low pre‐ and post‐NAC TIL levels had a worse 5‐year DFS than those with high pre‐NAC TIL levels (HR = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.23–3.56, p = 0.007). Conclusions Pre‐NAC TIL level can predict pCR and DFS in patients with breast cancer receiving NAC. For patients without pCR, pre‐NAC TIL, and TIL category change, but not post‐NAC TIL, were significantly associated with DFS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin Hong
- Department of General Surgery, Comprehensive Breast Health Center, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.,Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Tissue Microenvironment and Tumor, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Weiwei Rui
- Department of Pathology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaochun Fei
- Department of Pathology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaosong Chen
- Department of General Surgery, Comprehensive Breast Health Center, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Kunwei Shen
- Department of General Surgery, Comprehensive Breast Health Center, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
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The Prognostic Significance of MACC1 Expression in Breast Cancer and Its Relationship to Immune Cells in the Tumor Microenvironment and Patient Survival. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2021; 57:medicina57090934. [PMID: 34577857 PMCID: PMC8466860 DOI: 10.3390/medicina57090934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2021] [Revised: 08/27/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most prevalent malignancies among females worldwide. Globally, distant metastases were reported to be responsible for a large proportion of breast cancer-related deaths. The metastasis-associated colon cancer-1 (MACC1) gene was reported as a reliable biomarker for early detection of metastasis and prediction of prognosis of breast cancer. This study investigated the prognostic significance of MACC1 in breast cancer in relation to the clinicopathologic characteristics and patients’ survival. Furthermore, the possible correlation between MACC1 expression and the different immune cells in the tumor microenvironment was explored. MACC1 mRNA was identified using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in 120 breast cancer specimens and adjacent non-cancerous tissues. MACC1 mRNA expression was significantly higher in the cancerous relative to the non-cancerous tissues (p < 0.001). High MACC1 expression was significantly associated with poor prognostic parameters, such as larger tumor size, grade III tumors, positive nodal metastasis, lymphovascular invasion, stage III tumors, and elevated Ki-67 expression. Higher MACC1 mRNA levels were positively correlated with CD163+ tumor-associated macrophages (r = 0.614, p < 0.001), and were negatively correlated with CD56+ natural killer cells (r = −0.398, p < 0.001) and CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (r = −0.323, p < 0.001). MACC1 expression was associated with poor patient overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis suggested that MACC1 expression and the presence of lymphovascular invasion could be independent prognostic indicators for breast cancer (p = 0.015 and 0.042, respectively). In conclusion, MACC1 is highly expressed in cancerous tissues and is significantly related to poor prognostic factors, overall survival, and progression-free survival. MACC1 may influence infiltration of the immune cells in the tumor microenvironment, enhance immune escape of tumor cells, and may serve as a reliable independent prognostic factor for breast cancer.
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