KURODA Hajime
   Department   School of Medicine(Tokyo Women's Medical University Adachi Medical Center), School of Medicine
   Position   Professor
Article types Original article
Language English
Peer review Peer reviewed
Presence of invitation Invited paper
Title Tumor microenvironment in triple-negative breast cancer: the correlation of tumor-associated macrophages and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes.
Journal Formal name：Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico
Abbreviation：Clin Transl Oncol
ISSN code：16993055/1699048X
Domestic / ForeginForegin
Volume, Issue, Page 23(12),pp.2513-2525
Author and coauthor Kuroda H, Jamiyan T, Yamaguchi R, Kakumoto A, Abe A, Harada O, Masunaga A
Publication date 2021/12
Summary PURPOSE:Immune cells such as cytotoxic T cells, helper T cells, B cells or tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) contribute to the anti-tumor response or pro-tumorigenic effect in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). The interrelation of TAMs, T and B tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in TNBC has not been fully elucidated.METHODS:We evaluated the association of tumor-associated macrophages, T and B TILs in TNBC.RESULTS:TNBCs with a high CD68+, CD163+ TAMs and low CD4+, CD8+, CD20+ TILs had a significantly shorter relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) than those with low CD68+, CD163+ TAMs and high CD4+, CD8+, CD20+ TILs. TNBCs with high CD68+ TAMs/low CD8+ TILs showed a significantly shorter RFS and OS and a significantly poorer prognosis than those with high CD68+ TAMs/high CD8+ TILs, low CD68+ TAMs/high CD8+ TILs, and low CD68+/low CD8+. TNBCs with high CD163+ TAMs/low CD8+, low CD20 + TILs showed a significantly shorter RFS and OS and a significantly poorer prognosis than those with high CD163+ TAMs/high CD8+ TILs and high CD163+ TAMs /high CD20+ TILs.CONCLUSIONS:Our study suggests that TAMs further create an optimal tumor microenvironment (TME) for growth and invasion of cancer cells when evasion of immunoreactions due to T and B TILs occurs. In TNBCs, all these events combine to affect prognosis. The process of TME is highly complex in TNBCs and for an improved understanding, larger validation studies are necessary to confirm these findings.
DOI 10.1007/s12094-021-02652-3
PMID 34089486