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. 2017 Dec 8;20(4):395-409.
doi: 10.3233/CBM-170026.

Infiltration of γ⁢δ T cells, IL-17+ T cells and FoxP3+ T cells in human breast cancer

Roni Allaoui  1 , Catharina Hagerling  1 , Eva Desmond  1 , Carl-Fredrik Warfvinge  2 , Karin Jirström  2 , Karin Leandersson  1
Affiliations

Infiltration of γ⁢δ T cells, IL-17+ T cells and FoxP3+ T cells in human breast cancer

Roni Allaoui et al. Cancer Biomark. .

Abstract

Background: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have a strong prognostic value in various forms of cancers. These data often refer to use of the pan-T cell marker CD3, or the cytotoxic T lymphocyte marker CD8α. However, T cells are a heterogeneous group of cells with a wide array of effector mechanisms ranging from immunosuppression to cytotoxicity.

Objective: In this study we have investigated the prognostic effects of some unconventional T cell subtypes in breast cancer; γ⁢δ T cells, IL-17+ T cells and FoxP3+ T cells (Tregs) in relation to the conventional CD3 and CD8α T cell markers.

Methods: This was done using immunohistochemistry on a human breast cancer tissue microarray consisting of 498 consecutive cases of primary breast cancer.

Results: Infiltration of γ⁢δ T cells and T cell infiltration in general (CD3), correlated with a good prognosis, while Treg infiltration with a worse. Infiltration of γ⁢δ T cells was associated with a significantly improved clinical outcome in all breast cancer subtypes except triple negative tumors. Only infiltration of either CD3+ or CD8α+ cells was independently associated with better prognosis for all breast cancer patients.

Conclusions: This study sheds further light on the prognostic impact of various T cell subtypes in breast cancer.

Keywords: Breast cancer; T lymphocytes; TILs; prognosis; unconventional T cells.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
IHC staining of T cell subpopulations in breast cancers and association to survival outcome. A) IHC stainings in breast cancer TMA showing CD3; brown staining, γ⁢δ TCR; red membranous staining, FoxP3; brown staining and IL-17; brown staining. B) BCSS and RFS according to the infiltration of pan-T cell marker CD3, γ⁢δ⁢T cells, Tregs and IL-17+ T cells. Log-rank P value < 0.05 was considered significant.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Kaplan-Meier estimates of breast cancer specific survival according to different infiltrating T cell subpopulations in breast cancer. Impact of pan-T cell CD3, γ⁢δ T cells, Tregs and IL-17+ T cells on BCSS in different breast cancer subtypes. Log-rank P value < 0.05 was considered significant.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Kaplan-Meier estimates of recurrence free survival according to different infiltrating T cell subpopulations in breast cancer. Impact of pan-T cell CD3, γ⁢δ T cells, Tregs and IL-17+ T cells on RFS in different breast cancer subtypes. Log-rank Pvalue < 0.05 was considered significant.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Kaplan-Meier estimates on survival according to different infiltrating T-cell populations in patients receiving and not receiving adjuvant endocrine therapy. Impact of pan-T cell CD3, γ⁢δ T cells, Tregs and IL-17+ T cells on both BCSS and RFS in breast cancer patients receiving and not receiving adjuvant endocrine therapy. The study cohort was conceived before clinical use of ER-testing, hence both groups includes both ER-positive and ER-negative patients. Log-rank P value < 0.05 was considered significant.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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