Published in:
01-07-2016 | Original Article
Tumor-infiltrating CD45RO+ memory cells are associated with a favorable prognosis breast cancer
Authors:
Reina Yajima, Toshiki Yajima, Takaaki Fujii, Yasuhiro Yanagita, Tomomi Fujisawa, Takeshi Miyamoto, Soichi Tsutsumi, Misa Iijima, Hiroyuki Kuwano
Published in:
Breast Cancer
|
Issue 4/2016
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Abstract
Background
CD45RO is a marker for memory lymphocytes. Whether CD45RO+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) prevent breast cancer recurrence is unclear.
Methods
In the present study, we evaluated CD45RO expression in TILs as a predictor of prognosis in 98 patients with breast cancer who underwent radical surgery without neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Patients were classified as CD45RO+/TILsHigh or CD45RO+/TILsLow based on median immunohistochemistry levels.
Results
CD45RO+/TILsHigh were associated with smaller tumor size. The CD45RO+/TILsHigh group also had significantly fewer metastatic lymph nodes (P = 0.0082) and fewer peritumoral lymphatic invasions (P = 0.0284). The CD45RO+/TILsHigh group enjoyed longer recurrence-free survival (P = 0.0453) but not cancer-specific survival (P = 0.0640) in univariate analysis.
Conclusions
These results suggested that CD45RO+ effector cells may both help eradicate local tumors and prevent metastases to the lymphatic systems in breast cancer patients. High ratio of CD45RO expressing TILs was associated with recurrence-free survival improvement and a trend toward cancer-specific survival improvement in breast cancer patients.