Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45147, Essen, Germany.
Institute for Pathology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45147, Essen, Germany.
BMC Cancer. 2019 Feb 4;19(1):120. doi: 10.1186/s12885-019-5320-2.
Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are described as an important immune modulator in the tumor microenvironment and are associated with breast cancer (BC) outcome. The spatial analysis of TILs and TIL subtype distribution at the invasive tumor front (ITF) and the tumor center (TC) might provide further insights into tumor progression.
We analyzed core biopsies from 87 pre-therapeutic BC patients for total TILs and the following subtypes: CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD20+ and CD68+ cells in correlation to clinicopathological parameters and disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) in the bone marrow.
TILs and TIL subtypes showed significantly different spatial distribution among both tumor areas. TILs, especially CD3+ T cells were associated with the tumor status and tumor grading. BC patients responding to neoadjuvant chemotherapy had significantly more TILs and CD3+ T cells at the TC. The presence of DTCs after NACT was related to CD4+ infiltration at the TC.
The dissimilar spatial association of TILs and TIL subtypes with clinicopathological parameters, NACT response and minimal residual disease underlines the necessity of detailed TIL analysis for a better understanding of immune modulatory processes.
肿瘤浸润淋巴细胞（TILs）被描述为肿瘤微环境中的一种重要免疫调节剂，与乳腺癌（BC）的结局相关。在浸润性肿瘤前沿（ITF）和肿瘤中心（TC）对 TILs 及其亚型分布进行空间分析，可能有助于进一步了解肿瘤的进展。
我们分析了 87 例接受新辅助化疗前 BC 患者的核心活检标本，以评估总 TILs 及以下亚型：CD3+、CD4+、CD8+、CD20+和 CD68+细胞，同时分析了骨髓中的弥散性肿瘤细胞（DTCs）。
TILs 和 TIL 亚型在肿瘤区域之间的空间分布存在显著差异。TILs，尤其是 CD3+T 细胞与肿瘤状态和肿瘤分级相关。对新辅助化疗有反应的 BC 患者在 TC 处有更多的 TILs 和 CD3+T 细胞。NACT 后存在 DTCs 与 TC 处的 CD4+浸润有关。
TILs 和 TIL 亚型与临床病理参数、NACT 反应和微小残留病的不同空间关联，强调了对免疫调节过程进行详细 TIL 分析的必要性。
