Relationship between the change in tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte level and residual tumour after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced breast cancer

Erol, Vedat BuğraGöktaş Aydın, SabinBilici, AhmetÇakır, AslıAçıkgöz, ÖzgürÖlmez, Ömer FatihBasım, Pelin2024-02-222024-02-222023Erol, V. B., Göktaş Aydın, S., Bilici, A., Çakır, A., Açıkgöz, Ö., Ölmez, Ö. F. ... Basım, P. (2023). Relationship between the change in tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte level and residual tumour after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced breast cancer. Journal of Chemotherapy, 35(7), 662-670. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1120009X.2023.22472071120-009X1973-9478https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1120009X.2023.2247207https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12511/12301To evaluate the tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) rates in breast tissue before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and their impact on survival, eighty-four patients with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) were assessed. Pre- and post-NAC TIL levels were determined using biopsy and surgical specimens, respectively. The median TIL rate was significantly different before (17.5%) and after (5%) NAC. Pre- and postoperative Ki-67 index, molecular subtype, pre- and post-NAC TIL concentration, and preoperative residual-cancer-burden TIL were significantly associated with pathological complete response (pCR). Specifically, higher pre-NAC TIL levels were associated with higher pCR rates. Postoperative Ki-67 index and pCR, and postoperative Ki-67 index were significant predictors of disease-free (DFS) and overall survival, respectively. The independent prognostic factors for DFS were postoperative Ki-67 score (hazard ratio [HR]: 6.16; p = 0.012), post-NAC TIL score (HR: 0.42; P = 0.041), and pCR (HR: 0.10; P = 0.038). Our study confirms that higher pre-NAC and lower postoperative TIL levels may be surrogate factors for longer DFS, and postoperative TIL rate may predict post-NAC pCR in patients with LABC.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccessBreast CancerBreast SurgeryDisease-Free SurvivalNeoadjuvant ChemotherapyPathological ResponseTumour-Infiltrating LymphocyteRelationship between the change in tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte level and residual tumour after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced breast cancerArticle35766267010.1080/1120009X.2023.2247207Q40010519273000012-s2.0-8516846419537599454Q3