Abundant Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes Tied to Improved Survival in Patients With Early-Stage Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Undergoing Surgery Without Chemo

Apr 19, 2024

Photo Credit: Andreus

For patients with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who undergo surgery without chemotherapy, tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) abundance is associated with improved survival, according to a study published online April 2 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Roberto A. Leon-Ferre, M.D., from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and colleagues examined the association of TIL abundance in breast cancer tissue with survival among patients with early-stage TNBC who were treated with locoregional therapy in a retrospective pooled analysis of individual patient-level data from 13 participating centers. A total of 1,966 participants diagnosed with TNBC between 1979 and 2017 who received treatment with surgery, with or without radiotherapy but without chemotherapy, were included.

The researchers found that the median TIL level was 15 percent, and 417 (21 percent) and 1,300 (66 percent) patients had a TIL ≥50 percent and <30 percent, respectively. For stage I TNBC, five-year survival free of distant recurrence (DRFS) was 94 and 78 percent for those with a TIL level of ≥50 versus <30 percent, respectively; corresponding five-year overall survival was 95 versus 82 percent. After adjustment for age, tumor size, nodal status, histological grade, and receipt of radiotherapy, at a median follow-up of 18 years, each 10 percent higher TIL increment was independently associated with improved invasive disease-free survival, recurrence-free survival, DRFS, and overall survival (hazard ratios, 0.92, 0.90, 0.87, and 0.88, respectively).

“These results suggest that breast tissue TIL abundance is a prognostic factor for patients with early-stage TNBC,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

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