Predictive value of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes for pathological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients with axillary lymph node metastasis

PURPOSE: We investigated the role of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in pretreatment primary breast cancer to predict pathological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in patients with clinical node-positive disease (cN +).

METHODS: The subjects of this study were 60 patients with cN + , who received NAC followed by breast surgery with axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). We conducted a semi-quantitative assessment of TILs in pretreatment primary tumors and their association with clinicopathological factors and axillary lymph node metastasis.

RESULTS: We observed a higher number of TILs in tumors with negative hormone receptors, positive human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, or high Ki67. TILs were associated with a favorable response to NAC in primary tumors. The rate of axillary pathologic complete response (Ax-pCR) was significantly higher in patients with a high number of TILs than in patients with a low number of TILs (72.0% versus 17.1%, p < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, a high number of TILs was a significant predictor of Ax-pCR as well as of pCR of the primary tumor after NAC. Importantly, all patients with HER2-positive tumors in the high TILs group showed Ax-pCR on ALND.

CONCLUSION: TILs in pretreatment primary breast cancer had the potential to predict therapeutic efficacy of NAC in patients with clinical node-positive disease.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2021

Erschienen:

2021

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:51

Enthalten in:

Surgery today - 51(2021), 4 vom: 14. Apr., Seite 595-604

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Yokotani, Tomoyo [VerfasserIn]
Ikeda, Noaya [VerfasserIn]
Hirao, Tomoko [VerfasserIn]
Tanaka, Yukimi [VerfasserIn]
Morita, Kohei [VerfasserIn]
Fujii, Tomomi [VerfasserIn]
Ohbayashi, Chiho [VerfasserIn]
Nakamura, Takashi [VerfasserIn]
Kobayashi, Toyoki [VerfasserIn]
Sho, Masayuki [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Axillary dissection
Axillary pathological complete response
Breast cancer
EC 2.7.10.1
ERBB2 protein, human
Journal Article
Ki-67 Antigen
MKI67 protein, human
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy
Receptor, ErbB-2
Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 15.09.2021

Date Revised 15.09.2021

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1007/s00595-020-02157-6

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM316221384