scholarly journals Topographic distribution of lymphocyte infiltrate in triple negative tumors and its impact on the survival of the patient with breast cancer

Mastology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Suppl 1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Peixoto ◽  
Marcos Duarte Guimarães ◽  
Maria Aparecida Seabra ◽  
Olávio Campos ◽  
Ana Carolina Ferraz Pascoal

Introduction: Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) are generally measured using subjective methods unable to differentiate subpopulations and to locate immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. The identification and location of these cells is of great importance as they present different responses to immune stimuli. Objective: to analyze the presence of TIL in early-stage breast cancer of the triple negative molecular subtype, and to evaluate the association of TIL with the overall survival time (OS). Methods: a cross-sectional study was carried out at the Hospital de Câncer de Pernambuco (HCP), where patients diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer were selected between 2009 and 2013. TIL evaluation was performed by two methods: on slides stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), by two pathologists blindly and independently, and on slides submitted to immunohistochemistry, with CD3 and CD8 lymphocyte marking. In this case, the sample was then subjected to computerized histophotometry and morphometric analysis. Results: 87 patients were included, of which 22 patients had an event in the follow-up period. The evaluation of TIL, by two pathologists, showed regular agreement between the evaluators, with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.574 and p=0.001. CD3+ and CD8+ lymphocytes were in greater quantity in the intra tumor area compared to those outside the tumor margin (extra tumor). When the association between the presence of lymphocytes and the patient’s OS was analyzed, a directly proportional relationship with this survival was observed, that is, the greater the amount of lymphocytes, the lower the risk of death. Conclusion: results suggest that there is a correlation between the tumor lymphocyte infiltrate of triple negative breast cancer and OS. As this tumor subtype has a poor prognosis and does not have specific target therapy, TIL analysis can be explored as a prognostic marker for the treatment of breast cancer.

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Sun Lee ◽  
Susan E. Yost ◽  
Yuan Yuan

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive breast cancer with historically poor outcomes, primarily due to the lack of effective targeted therapies. The tumor molecular heterogeneity of TNBC has been well recognized, yet molecular subtype driven therapy remains lacking. While neoadjuvant anthracycline and taxane-based chemotherapy remains the standard of care for early stage TNBC, the optimal chemotherapy regimen is debatable. The addition of carboplatin to anthracycline, cyclophosphamide, and taxane (ACT) regimen is associated with improved complete pathologic response (pCR). Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) combinations significantly increase pCR in TNBC. Increased tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TILs) or the presence of DNA repair deficiency (DRD) mutation is associated with increased pCR. Other targets, such as poly-ADP-ribosyl polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) and Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/Protein Kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K-AKT-mTOR) pathway inhibitors, are being evaluated in the neoadjuvant setting. This review examines recent progress in neoadjuvant therapy of TNBC, including platinum, ICI, PARPi, phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha (PIK3CA) pathway targeted therapies, and novel tumor microenvironment (TME) targeted therapy, in addition to biomarkers for the prediction of pCR.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1246
Author(s):  
Marta Sanz-Álvarez ◽  
Ion Cristóbal ◽  
Melani Luque ◽  
Andrea Santos ◽  
Sandra Zazo ◽  
...  

The bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4), a member of the bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) protein family, has emerged in the last years as a promising molecular target in many tumors including breast cancer. The triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents the molecular subtype with the worst prognosis and a current therapeutic challenge, and TNBC cells have been reported to show a preferential sensitivity to BET inhibitors. Interestingly, BRD4 phosphorylation (pBRD4) was found as an alteration that confers resistance to BET inhibition and PP2A proposed as the phosphatase responsible to regulate pBRD4 levels. However, the potential clinical significance of pBRD4, as well as its potential correlation with the PP2A pathway in TNBC, remains to be investigated. Here, we evaluated the expression levels of pBRD4 in a series of 132 TNBC patients. We found high pBRD4 levels in 34.1% of cases (45/132), and this alteration was found to be associated with the development of patient recurrences (p = 0.007). Interestingly, BRD4 hyperphosphorylation predicted significantly shorter overall (p < 0.001) and event-free survival (p < 0.001). Moreover, multivariate analyses were performed to confirm its independent prognostic impact in our cohort. In conclusion, our findings show that BRD4 hyperphosphorylation is an alteration associated with PP2A inhibition that defines a subgroup of TNBC patients with unfavorable prognosis, suggesting the potential clinical and therapeutic usefulness of the PP2A/BRD4 axis as a novel molecular target to overcome resistance to treatments based on BRD4 inhibition.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A347-A347
Author(s):  
Shipra Gandhi ◽  
Mateusz Opyrchal ◽  
Cayla Ford ◽  
Victoria Fitzpatrick ◽  
Melissa Grimm ◽  
...  

BackgroundNeoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) with taxanes is the standard of care in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Intratumoral prevalence of CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs) is associated with an improvement in relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS), while regulatory T-cells (Treg) and myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are associated with poor survival. Higher ratio of CTL/Treg is associated with higher probability of obtaining pathological complete response (pCR), a surrogate marker for RFS. Intratumoral production of CCL5, CXCL9, CXCL10 and CXCL11 is critical for local infiltration with CTLs, while CCL22 is responsible for Treg attraction. Previous studies have shown that CXCL9 expression in the pre-treatment breast tissue is associated with a three-fold higher rate of achieving pCR. Our preclinical data show that Chemokine modulating (CKM) regimen, combining rintatolimod (TLR3 agonist), interferon (IFN)-α2b, and celecoxib (COX-2 inhibitor) increases CTL-attracting, and decreases MDSC-, Treg-favoring chemokines, increasing CTL/Treg ratio in tumor microenvironment, with preferential tumor tissue activation than adjacent healthy tissues. We hypothesize that the combination of CKM with paclitaxel will result in infiltration of TNBC with CTLs, and along with doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide (AC), result in higher pCR, translating into improved RFS and OS.MethodsIn this phase I study NCT04081389, eligibility includes age ≥18 years, confirmed resectable TNBC, radiographically measurable disease ≥1 cm, ECOG PS ≤ 2, adequate organ and marrow function. Patients with autoimmune disease, serious mood disorders, invasive carcinoma within 3 years, history of peptic ulcers or hypersensitivity to NSAIDs will be excluded. We plan to treat three patients with early stage TNBC with paclitaxel 80 mg/m2 IV weekly for 12 weeks, rintatolimod 200 mg IV, celecoxib 200 mg oral twice daily, and accelerated titration of IFN-α2b at doses 0, 5, or 10 million units (MU)/m2 [Dose Levels (DL) 1, 2 and 3 respectively] on days 1–3 (no intra-patient dose escalation) in weeks 1–3. Dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) is defined as grade 3 or higher toxicities within the first 3 weeks. Any DLT will mandate recruitment per the 3+3 model. If no DLT, three patients will be enrolled at DL 4 at 20 MU/m2 IFN- α2b. This will be followed by standard dose-dense AC, and then surgery. The primary endpoint is safety and tolerability of combination and to identify the appropriate DL of CKM and paclitaxel for extended efficacy study. The secondary endpoints include investigation of efficacy (pCR and breast MRI response), along with RFS and OS. Intratumoral biomarkers will be analyzed in an exploratory manner.ResultsN/AConclusionsN/ATrial RegistrationNCT04081389Ethics ApprovalThe study was approved by Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Institution’s Ethics Board, approval number I-73718.


QJM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 114 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hesham Ahmed ElGhazaly ◽  
Manal Mohamed El-Mahdy ◽  
Azza Mohamed Adel ◽  
Nermeen Mostafa ◽  
Aya Magdy Kamal Ali

Abstract Background TNBC comprises a distinct disease entity with a unique microenvironment of TILs, the immunogenic potential of TNBC is derived from its genetic instability and high mutation rate. Tumors from patients with TNBC are more likely than tumors from patients with other subtypes to exhibit chromosomal instability and potential mutations. Objectives The study aims to evaluate the prevalence of CD8+ TILs biomarker by IHC in triple negative breast cancer and its prognostic value. TILs are an important prognostic value for the response of patient to chemotherapy the greater number of TILS is associated with higher probability of response to chemotherapy also decrease recurrence. TILS in triple negative breast cancer suggest a likely option for immunotherapy in this disease. Patients and Methods This is a retrospective study, which was carried on 30 female patients, Clinical data and paraffin wax block of female patients with triple negative breast cancer are to be collected from the breast cancer unit, department of clinical Oncology and Nuclear medicine Ain Shams university and Matarya teaching hospital. Results Several large systematic reviews and meta-analyses have confirmed that high levels of TILs are associated with better disease free survival and overall survival only in triple negative and HER2 positive subtypes, with no significant benefit seen in estrogen receptor positive breast carcinoma. In the Breast International Group (BIG) 02-98 trial shows that for every 10% increase in the intertumoral TILs there was a 17% reduced risk of relapse, and 27% reduced risk of death regardless of chemotherapy type. Also in eastern cooperative oncology group trial (ECOG) 2197, and 1199 showed that for every 10% increase in TILs, a 14% reduction of risk of recurrence, and 19% reduction in risk of death were observed. Conclusion Our study showed that All our patients (100%) were positive for CD8+, with a minimum range of 1% and a maximum range of 60%, most of the patients (20 patients) had CD8% between (10% to 20%). High levels of CD8 + TILs are good prognostic indicators in TNBC. our study showed that there were associations of CD8+ TILs infiltrate status with longer progression free survival and better overall survival in triple-negative breast cancer, but were not statistically significant probably due to our small sample size.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 4139
Author(s):  
Pere Llinàs-Arias ◽  
Sandra Íñiguez-Muñoz ◽  
Kelly McCann ◽  
Leonie Voorwerk ◽  
Javier I. J. Orozco ◽  
...  

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is defined by the absence of estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpression. This malignancy, representing 15–20% of breast cancers, is a clinical challenge due to the lack of targeted treatments, higher intrinsic aggressiveness, and worse outcomes than other breast cancer subtypes. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have shown promising efficacy for early-stage and advanced TNBC, but this seems limited to a subgroup of patients. Understanding the underlying mechanisms that determine immunotherapy efficiency is essential to identifying which TNBC patients will respond to immunotherapy-based treatments and help to develop new therapeutic strategies. Emerging evidence supports that epigenetic alterations, including aberrant chromatin architecture conformation and the modulation of gene regulatory elements, are critical mechanisms for immune escape. These alterations are particularly interesting since they can be reverted through the inhibition of epigenetic regulators. For that reason, several recent studies suggest that the combination of epigenetic drugs and immunotherapeutic agents can boost anticancer immune responses. In this review, we focused on the contribution of epigenetics to the crosstalk between immune and cancer cells, its relevance on immunotherapy response in TNBC, and the potential benefits of combined treatments.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahan Mamoor

We mined published microarray data (1) to understand the most significant gene expression differences in the tumors of triple negative breast cancer patients based on survival following treatment: dead or alive. We observed significant transcriptome-wide differential expression of vacuolar protein sorting 52, encoded by VPS52 when comparing the primary tumors of triple negative breast cancer patients dead or alive. Importantly, VPS52 expression was correlated with recurrence-free survival in basal subtype breast cancer, a molecular subtype sharing significant overlap with triple negative breast cancer. VPS52 may be of relevance as a biomarker or as a molecule of interest in understanding the etiology or progression of triple negative breast cancer.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahan Mamoor

We mined published microarray data (1) to understand the most significant gene expression differences in the tumors of triple negative breast cancer patients based on survival following treatment: dead or alive. We observed significant transcriptome-wide differential expression of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase kinase 2, encoded by MAP4K2 when comparing the primary tumors of triple negative breast cancer patients dead or alive. Importantly, MAP4K2 expression was correlated with distant metastasis-free survival in basal subtype breast cancer, a molecular subtype sharing significant overlap with triple negative breast cancer. MAP4K2 may be of relevance as a biomarker or as a molecule of interest in understanding the etiology or progression of triple negative breast cancer.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahan Mamoor

We mined published microarray data (1) to understand the most significant gene expression differences in the tumors of triple negative breast cancer patients based on survival following treatment: dead or alive. We observed significant transcriptome-wide differential expression of paired box 5, encoded by PAX5 when comparing the primary tumors of triple negative breast cancer patients dead or alive. Importantly, PAX5 expression was significantly correlated with overall survival in basal subtype breast cancer, a molecular subtype sharing significant overlap with triple negative breast cancer. PAX5 may be of relevance as a biomarker or as a molecule of interest in understanding the etiology or progression of triple negative breast cancer.


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