scholarly journals A Study on Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes in Different Subtypes of Breast Cancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-81
Author(s):  
Polina D. Dimitrova ◽  
Savelina L. Popovska ◽  
Ivan N. Ivanov

Summary The study aimed to investigate immune cell infiltration in different subtypes of breast cancer (BC). Retrospectively were selected 100 patients with primary BC, grouped into four molecular surrogate subtypes (Luminal A and Luminal B-like, HER2-positive and triple-negative - TN), determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC). In each patient, a percentage of stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) was determined by hematoxylin-eosin staining. IHC was performed using primary antibodies CD3, CD4, CD8, CD20, and FOXP3. Immunophenotyped lymphocytes were counted (separately intratumoral and stromal) and semi-quantitatively graded. In the studied tumors, 10% were defined as lymphocyte-predominant BC. A high count of intratumoral and stromal TILs subsets was found mainly in TN and HER2-positive BC. The stroma is the preferred localization for immune cells in all four BC subtypes. CD3+ T predominates over CD20+ B lymphocytes, with CD8+ T cytotoxic and FoxP3+ T regulatory cells dominating T subtypes. HER2 and TN are more immunogenic than Luminal A and Luminal B – like subtypes of BC. The T-cells’ immune response was predominant in the studied cases of BC, with a predominance of CD8+ Tc and Foxp3+ Treg cells located mainly in the stroma.

2021 ◽  
Vol 107 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 12-12
Author(s):  
D Aissaoui ◽  
M Bohli ◽  
R Ben Amor ◽  
J Yahyaoui ◽  
A Hamdoun ◽  
...  

Introduction: Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) is a rare and very aggressive breast cancer with poor prognosis. The prevalence is different from a country to another. In Tunisia, it is about 5 to 7% of breast cancer. The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiological and histopathological features of patients with inflammatory breast cancer and to evaluate the treatment response according to the molecular subtypes. Methods: This retrospective review identified 31 patients with no metastatic IBC treated in our radiotherapy department between December 2019 and November 2020. IBC was confirmed using the clinical criteria. Baseline clinic-pathological and treatment information was retrieved from medical records. Statistical analysis was performed with IBM SPSS V.20. Results: Median age was 51.3 years [27-68]. 48% of tumors were grade 3. The average tumor size was 36mm [10-90]. The histological type was ductal carcinoma in 97%. Vascular invasion was noted in 24 patients (77%). Thirty patients were classified as stage IIIB and one patient was IIIC. 74% were hormone receptor positive and 45% were HER2 positive. Luminal B was the predominant subtype (52%) followed by Her2 positive (32%), Luminal A (23%), and triple negative (3%) All patients had chemotherapy: neoadjuvant for 26 patients (84%) and adjuvant for 5 patients (16%). Nine patients (29%) had tumor pathological complete response (pCR). Partial response was observed in 18 patients (58%). Lymph node pCR was noted in 16% of cases (n=5). Endocrine therapy and trastuzumab were given to 76% and 45% of patients, respectively. The influence of the molecular subtype was not statistically significant on the response to neoadjuvant treatment. The highest rate of pCR were 43% for Her2positive, then 27%, 21% and 9% for Luminal B, Luminal A and Triple negative, respectively (p=0.2). Conclusion: Our study showed a high percentage of hormone receptor and Her2+ (74% and 45% respectively) in IBC. Luminal B was the most frequent subtype. Anthracycline-based chemotherapy and trastuzumab improved the pCR rate: 44% for Her2positive. Triple negative showed poorer pCR than other breast cancer subtype without a significant difference. A larger study is warranted to confirm our findings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fangfang Liu ◽  
Thomas Hardiman ◽  
Kailiang Wu ◽  
Jelmar Quist ◽  
Patrycja Gazinska ◽  
...  

AbstractThe level of stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (sTILs) in triple-negative (TNBC) and HER2-positive breast cancers convey prognostic information. The importance of systemic immunity to local immunity is unknown in breast cancer. We previously demonstrated that histological alterations in axillary lymph nodes (LNs) carry clinical relevance. Here, we capture local immune responses by scoring TILs at the primary tumor and systemic immune responses by recording the formation of secondary follicles, also known as germinal centers, in 2,857 cancer-free and involved axillary LNs on haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained sections from a retrospective cohort of 161 LN-positive triple-negative and HER2-positive breast cancer patients. Our data demonstrate that the number of germinal center formations across all cancer-free LNs, similar to high levels of TILs, is associated with a good prognosis in low TILs TNBC. This highlights the importance of assessing both primary and LN immune responses for prognostication and for future breast cancer research.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e12570-e12570
Author(s):  
Lalnun Puii ◽  
Lalram Sangi ◽  
Hrishi Varayathu ◽  
Samuel Luke Koramati ◽  
Beulah Elsa Thomas ◽  
...  

e12570 Background: Gene expression profiling for breast cancer has classified ER positive subtype into luminal A and luminal B. Luminal B breast cancer (LBBC) have a higher proliferation and poorer prognosis than luminal A tumors. Ki-67 index is the commonly used proliferation marker in breast cancer; however Ki67 expression can also be used to identify a subset of patients among LB with a favorable prognosis. This study attempts to verify this subset of LBBC patients based on DFS and PFS in non-metastatic and metastatic patients respectively. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 80 IDC breast cancer patients diagnosed in 2013-2016 with complete follow-up till January-2021. We defined LBBC as ER+, PR+ or PR- , HER2+ or HER2- with a Ki67 index >20%. PFS was considered as the endpoint in patients presenting with metastatic disease whereas DFS was used in non-metastatic disease. The cut-off for ki67 was calculated using an X-tile plot (version 3.6.1, Yale University) by dividing Ki67 data into two populations: low and high, with randomized 1:1 “training” and “validation” cohorts. Results: Median age was 51.5 years. 18.7% (n=15) presented with metastasis at the time of diagnosis and their overall median PFS was found to be 25.8 months. The incidence of HER2 positive LBBC was found to be 15% (n=12) and none of them were found to be presented with metastasis. Survival and frequency of various sub groups in our study are enlisted in the given table. We estimated a Ki67 cut-off of 30% in patients with upfront metastatic disease and PFS was found to be higher in <30% compared to a Ki67 index >30% (38.9 months vs 19.7 months, p-0.002). Overall median DFS was not achieved in non-metastatic group (Mean DFS: 64.7 months) where as a statistically significant difference was observed in the survival of HER2 positive (median DFS: 53.5 months, mean DFS: 50.9) than HER2 negative patients (median DFS not achieved, mean: 66.97 months) ( p-0.021). We obtained a Ki67 cut-off of 32% in non- metastatic group and mean DFS was found to be higher in Ki67<32% (69 months) compared to Ki67>32% (61.4 months), however it failed to exhibit a statistically significant relationship ( p-0.373). Conclusions: Our study indicates that a subset of patients exists within metastatic and non-metastatic LBBC with differing prognosis based on Ki67. Larger studies are further required to confirm the findings and therapeutic implications.[Table: see text]


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 572-572
Author(s):  
Yunan Han ◽  
Shuai Xu ◽  
Graham A. Colditz ◽  
Adetunji T. Toriola

572 Background: Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in U.S. women. On the molecular level, breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease. Heterogeneous expressions of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) are etiologically and clinically meaningful, as they map to distinct risk factors and different treatment strategies. Although breast cancer mortality has been declining since 1990, little is known about mortality trends according to molecular subtypes at the population level. Methods: We examined the incidence-based mortality rates and trends among women who were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer from 2010 through 2017 using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. We defined incidence-based mortality using a moving 5-year calendar period starting in 2014. We further assessed mortality according to breast cancer molecular subtypes: luminal A (ER and/or PR positive, HER2 negative), luminal B (ER and/or PR positive, HER2 positive), HER2-enriched (HER2 over-expressed or amplified, ER and PR negative) and triple-negative (ER and PR negative, HER2 negative) tumors. We calculated annual percent changes (APC) in incidence-based mortality using joinpoint regression models. Results: Overall, incidence-based mortality for breast cancer significantly decreased by 1.5% annually from 2014 through 2017 (APC, -1.5%; 95% coefficient interval [CI], -2.3% to -0.7%; p<0.001). Incidence-based mortality decreased annually by 2.0% for luminal A breast cancer (APC, -2.0%; 95% CI, -3.7% to -0.3%; p<0.001), 2.1% for luminal B breast cancer (APC, -2.1%; 95% CI, -5.4% to 1.4%; p=0.1), 1.1% for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) (APC, -1.1%; 95% CI, -2.1% to -0.0%; p<0.001). However, incidence-based mortality for HER2-enriched breast cancer increased 2.3% annually during the study period (APC, 2.3%; 95% CI, -2.4% to 7.2%; p=0.2). Conclusions: Between 2014 and 2017, incidence-based mortality for luminal A, luminal B, and TNBC decreased among U.S. women, with a larger decrease observed for luminal tumors. However, incidence-based mortality for HER2-enriched breast cancer increased. The favorable incidence-based mortality trends for luminal tumors and TNBC are likely due to the continuing improvement in treatments and early detection. The increasing trend of incidence-based mortality for HER2-enriched breast cancer constitutes a priority for cancer control activities and further research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-94
Author(s):  
T.S. Kalinina ◽  
V.V. Kononchuk ◽  
S.V. Sidorov ◽  
L.F. Gulyaeva

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among women. It is known that the prolactin receptor (PRLR) may play a role in breast carcinogenesis, but the available data are often contradictory. To get a more complete picture of the relationship between the receptor and mammary gland carcinogenesis, we examined the association between changes in PRLR expression level and tumor subtype (and its main characteristics). To do this, using real-time PCR, we evaluated the level of PRLR mRNA in BC tissue samples and untransformed adjoining tissue samples (89 pairs). Since the androgen receptor (AR) has begun to be seen as a prognostic marker in breast cancer, we also evaluated the association between mRNA levels of AR and PRLR. We found a significant increase in PRLR expression in luminal subtypes; the highest level of PRLR mRNA was detected in luminal A subtype. In HER2-positive ER-, PR-negative BC, the PRLR mRNA level decreases in tumor tissues compared with untransformed tissues. High PRLR expression is also associated with smaller tumor size in luminal B HER2-negative subtype. In ER-, PR-negative tumors, PRLR expression is associated with AR expression: PRLR mRNA level is increased when AR mRNA level is reduced by more than 8 times in triple-negative tumors; in contrast, in HER2-positive subtype it decreases more significantly when AR expression is reduced by more than 3 times. A tendency towards an increase in PRLR expression with an increase in the AR mRNA level was also discovered in luminal subtypes. The level of PRLR expression depends on the age of patients. In luminal A, PRLR expression is higher in patients under 65 years. In contrast, in luminal B HER2-negative and triple-negative BC, reduced PRLR expression was observed in patients under the age of 40 years and under the age of 50 years, respectively. In this group of patients under the age of 40 years with luminal B HER2-negative BC, ER expression was also reduced (0-4 score according to the IHC assay). Thus, PRLR probably plays a different role in the development and progression of BC: in luminal A and luminal B HER2-positive subtypes PRLR may act as an oncogen, and in luminal B HER2-negative and ER-, PR-negative subtypes can play a tumor suppressor role.


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