Journal
BMC CANCER
Volume 18, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
BMC
DOI: 10.1186/s12885-018-4228-6
Keywords
Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes; 21-gene recurrence score; Breast cancer
Categories
Funding
- Basic Science Research Program through the NRF
- Ministry of Science, ICT, & Future Planning [NRF-2015R1C1A1A02037104]
- National R&D Program for Cancer Control, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea [1520120]
- National Research Foundation of Korea [2016R1D1A1A09917675] Funding Source: Korea Institute of Science & Technology Information (KISTI), National Science & Technology Information Service (NTIS)
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Background: Recent studies have shown that tumors with extensive tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have a higher probability of pathologic complete response, even in luminal/human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer. We compared TIL levels and the 21-gene recurrence score (RS) in estrogen receptor (ER)positive/HER2-negative breast cancer. Methods: We evaluated the percentage of stromal TILs in 198 ER-positive/HER2-negative patients in whom RS was obtained by examining slides of surgical specimens by standardized methodology proposed by the international TIL Working Group. TIL levels were categorized as high (>= 60%), intermediate (11-59%), or low (<= 10%). All tumors were treatment-naive. Results: Ninety-seven (49.0%), 88 (44.4%), and 13 patients (6.6%) had low, intermediate, and high TIL levels, respectively. There was a significant but weak correlation between continuous RS and continuous TIL levels (Pearson's R = 0.201, p = 0. 004). The mean RS was significantly highest in high TIL tumors (17.8 +/- 10.7 in low TIL tumors, 19.4 +/- 8.7 in intermediate TIL tumors, and 26.2 +/- 8.2 in high TIL tumors; p = 0.014). However, when we compared categorized RS and TIL levels, we found that tumors with high TIL levels tended to have higher RS (>= 26) but it was not significant (p = 0.155). Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed that high RS was not an independent factor associated with high TIL levels. Chemo-endocrine therapy was more frequently performed among patients with high TILs and less frequently among those with low or intermediate TILs (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Despite of a weak correlation between continuous TIL levels and RS, we found that tumors with high TIL levels tended to have a higher RS in ER-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer. Further study is warranted considering the clinical outcomes.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available