Prognostic value of various immune cells and Immunoscore in triple-negative breast cancer

Frontiers in Immunology

Immunology

Yu Song¹  Liangrui Zhou²  Longyun Chen²  Xinyu Ren²  Junyi Pang²  Huanwen Wu²  Zhiyong Liang² 

[1] Department of Breast Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China;Department of Pathology, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Disease, Molecular Pathology Research Center, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China;

关键词: triple-negative breast cancer;    immunohistochemical staining;    immune microenvironment;    image registration;    Immunoscore;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fimmu.2023.1137561

 received in 2023-01-04, accepted in 2023-03-29,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThis study aimed to evaluate the expression status and prognostic role of various immunoregulatory cells and test in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).MethodsThe expression of five markers (CD3/CD4/CD8/CD19/CD163) of tumor immune cells was evaluated retrospectively in tumor sections from 68 consecutive cases of TNBC by immunohistochemistry. Computational image analysis was used to quantify the density and distribution of each immune marker within the tumor region, tumor invasive margin, and expression hotspots. Immunoscores were calculated using an automated approach. Other clinical characteristics were also analyzed.ResultsFor all patients, Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed that high CD3+ signals in the tumor region (disease-free survival (DFS), P=0.0014; overall survival (OS), P=0.0031) and total region (DFS, P=0.0014; OS, P=0.0031) were significantly associated with better survival. High CD4+ levels in the tumor region and total regions were significantly associated with better survival (P<0.05). For Hotspot analysis, CD3+ was associated with significantly better survival for all Top1, Top2, and Top3 densities (DFS and OS, P<0.05). High CD4+ levels were significantly associated with better prognosis for Top1 and Top3 densities (DFS and OS, P<0.05). For stage IIB and IIIC patients, CD3+ in the tumor region and all Top hotspots was found to be significantly correlated with survival (DFS and OS, P<0.05). CD4+ cells were significantly associated with survival in the tumor region, total region, and Top3 density (DFS, P=0.0213; OS, P=0.0728). CD8+ cells were significantly associated with survival in the invasive margin, Top2 density, and Top3 density. Spatial parameter analysis showed that high colocalization of tumor cells and immune cells (CD3+, CD4+, or CD8+) was significantly associated with patient survival.ConclusionComputational image analysis is a reliable tool for evaluating the density and distribution of immune regulatory cells and for calculating the Immunoscore in TNBC. The Immunoscore retains its prognostic significance in TNBC later than IIB stage breast cancer. Future studies are required to confirm its potential to predict tumor responses to chemotherapy and immune therapy.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Ren, Song, Pang, Chen, Zhou, Liang and Wu