Department of Microscopic Morphology/Histology, Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania.
Doctoral School in Medicine, Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania.
Cells. 2023 Apr 17;12(8):1176. doi: 10.3390/cells12081176.
Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) mediate local antitumor immunity, and interest in them significantly increased since cancer immunotherapy was implemented. We examined TLS- tumor stromal blood vessel interplay for each breast cancer (BC) molecular subtype related to recurrence, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), and perineural invasion (PnI).
TLSs were quantified on hematoxylin and eosin stain specimens followed by CD34/smooth muscle actin (SMA) double immunostaining for stromal blood vessel maturation assessment. Statistical analysis linked microscopy to recurrence, LVI, and PnI.
TLS negative (TLS-) subgroups in each BC molecular subtype (except to Luminal A) have higher LVI, PnI, and recurrence. A significant rise in LVI and PnI were observed for the HER2+/TLS- subgroup ( < 0.001). The triple negative breast cancer (TNBC)/TLS- subgroup had the highest recurrence and invasion risk which was also significantly related to tumor grade. PnI but not LVI significantly influenced recurrence in the TNBC/TLS+ subgroup ( < 0.001). TLS-stromal blood vessel interrelation was different amongst BC molecular subtypes.
BC invasion and recurrence are strongly influenced by TLS presence and stromal blood vessels, especially for HER2 and TNBC BC molecular subtypes.
三级淋巴结构 (TLS) 介导局部抗肿瘤免疫，自癌症免疫疗法实施以来，人们对其的兴趣显著增加。我们研究了与复发、淋巴血管侵犯 (LVI) 和神经周围侵犯 (PnI) 相关的每种乳腺癌 (BC) 分子亚型的 TLS-肿瘤基质血管相互作用。
通过 CD34/平滑肌肌动蛋白 (SMA) 双重免疫染色评估基质血管成熟度，对苏木精和伊红染色标本进行 TLS 定量。将显微镜与复发、LVI 和 PnI 相关联进行统计分析。
每种 BC 分子亚型的 TLS-（TLS-）亚组（除 Luminal A 外）的 LVI、PnI 和复发率更高。HER2+/TLS-亚组的 LVI 和 PnI 显著增加（<0.001）。三阴性乳腺癌 (TNBC)/TLS-亚组的复发和侵袭风险最高，与肿瘤分级也有显著关系。与 TNBC/TLS+亚组相比，仅 PnI 而不是 LVI 显著影响复发（<0.001）。BC 分子亚型之间的 TLS-基质血管相互关系不同。
TLS 的存在和基质血管强烈影响 BC 的侵袭和复发，尤其是对于 HER2 和 TNBC BC 分子亚型。
