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Tumour-infiltrating FOXP3(+) lymphocytes are associated with cytotoxic immune responses and good clinical outcome in oestrogen receptor-negative breast cancer.
- Source :
-
British Journal of Cancer . 1/15/2013, Vol. 108 Issue 1, p155-162. 8p. - Publication Year :
- 2013
-
Abstract
- <bold>Background: </bold>Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are commonly identified by expression of the transcription factor FOXP3 and are conventionally thought to promote cancer progression by suppressing anti-tumour immune responses. We examined the relationship between FOXP3(+) tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) and prognosis in oestrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer, a tumour subtype with poor clinical outcome in which TIL are abundant.<bold>Methods: </bold>FOXP3(+) and CD8(+) TIL were assessed by immunohistochemistry in a cohort of 175 ER- breast tumours. Results were confirmed in an independent data set of 78 ER- breast tumours with publically available gene expression data.<bold>Results: </bold>High FOXP3(+) TIL levels were strongly associated with prolonged recurrence-free survival (HR=0.461, P=0.0002), particularly among basal-like tumours (HR=0.280, P=0.0001), for which FOXP3 status was independent of standard prognostic factors. Over 75% of FOXP3(+) TIL in triple negative breast tumours displayed a conventional CD4(+)CD25(+) Treg phenotype. Importantly, FOXP3(+) TIL were positively correlated with CD8(+) (cytotoxic) T cells (r(s)=0.76, P<0.0001), and were prognostically insignificant in tumours with low levels of CD8(+) TIL. These observations were confirmed in an independent cohort.<bold>Conclusion: </bold>In contrast with current dogma, we show for the first time that FOXP3(+) TIL are associated with robust anti-tumour immunity and favourable prognosis in ER- breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00070920
- Volume :
- 108
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- British Journal of Cancer
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 104294237
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.2012.524