Presence of CD3+tumor infiltrating lymphocytes is significantly associated with good prognosis in infiltrating ductal carcinoma of breast

Background: Aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic significance of CD3 TILs in infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC) of the breast. Materials and Methods: Immuno-histochemistry was done with CD3 antibodies in tissue sections of 127 breast cancer patients, and CD3 intra-tumoral and stromal TILs were counted in relation to clinico-pathological variables. Results: Intra-tumoral and stromal CD3 TILs were significantly associated with positive lymph node status (P = 0.006, P = 0.043, respectively) without significant association with age, menopausal status, family history, and hormonal status. The higher CD3 intra-tumoral and stromal counts both showed significant association with good prognosis (P = 0.039, P = 0.044, respectively). The intra-tumoral count was higher than stromal count and was independently associated with disease-free survival in stage I and II cancer (P = 0.021). Conclusions: CD3 TILs may serve as independent marker of good prognosis in IDC breast. The findings of this study need further validation on a larger sample size.