BACKGROUND Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is defined as a lack of the expression of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 in breast cancer. Many TNBCs show a profound infiltration of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). It is still uncertain whether these TILs are protumoral or antitumoral. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a role in inducing immune tolerance to antigens, and they may be selectively recruited by cancer cells. This study was conducted to evaluate the significance of TILs with an emphasis on forkhead box p3 (Foxp3), which is a marker for CD25+CD4+ Treg in TNBC. METHODS We investigated the Foxp3, CD8 and CD4 expressions in 100 cases of TNBC by immunohistochemistry and using a tissue microarray. The Foxp3 expression was divided as the high and low infiltration groups (cut-off value=20). RESULTS The high infiltration group was correlated with higher histologic and nuclear grades. However, Foxp3+ Tregs were decreased in the T3 and T4 TNBCs as compared to that of the T1 and T2 TNBCs. No significant differences were found for the nodal status, lymphovascular invasion, stage, recurrence and overall survival. CONCLUSIONS High Foxp3+ Treg infiltration in TNBC is correlated with the nuclear and histologic grades, but there was no relation to recurrence and overall survival.
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Predictive Value of Tertiary Lymphoid Structures Assessed by High Endothelial Venule Counts in the Neoadjuvant Setting of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer In Hye Song, Sun-Hee Heo, Won Seon Bang, Hye Seon Park, In Ah Park, Young-Ae Kim, Suk Young Park, Jin Roh, Gyungyub Gong, Hee Jin Lee Cancer Research and Treatment.2017; 49(2): 399. CrossRef
Zonal Difference and Prognostic Significance of Foxp3 Regulatory T Cell Infiltration in Breast Cancer Sewha Kim, Anbok Lee, Woosung Lim, Sanghui Park, Min Sun Cho, Heasoo Koo, Byung-In Moon, Sun Hee Sung Journal of Breast Cancer.2014; 17(1): 8. CrossRef
BACKGROUND Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are known to be key regulators of immune responses in patients with autoimmune disease and infection and also for attenuating antitumor immunity by the host. It has been reported that high numbers of tumor-infiltrating Tregs might be associated with poor clinical outcomes for several malignant tumors. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the impact of tumor-infiltrating Tregs on the prognosis of gastric carcinoma patients. METHODS The immunohistochemical staining for anti-fork head Box P3 (FoxP3) antibody was performed by using a 3 mm core from the tumor specimens of each of the 173 gastric cancer patients for constructing a tissue microarray.
FoxP3-positive Tregs were quantified by calculating the numbers of positive cells per 5 high-power fields on light microscopy. Thereafter, the 173 patients were subdivided into the low Tregs group (< or = 3/5 high power fields [HPF], n = 41) and the high Tregs group (> 3/5 HPF, n = 132). RESULTS The high Tregs group was significantly associated with a higher stage, more invasion depth and lymph node metastasis (p = 0.009, p = 0.036, p = 0.006, respectively).
The high Tregs group showed significantly poorer overall survival and event-free survival (p = 0.004, p = 0.017, respectively) on the univariate analysis. The Tregs group and the tumor, node and metastasis stage were also independent prognostic factors that were significantly associated with overall survival (p = 0.025, p < 0.001, respectively) by multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicated that a high number of tumor-infiltrating FoxP3-positive Tregs could be an indicator of poor long term survival for gastric carcinoma patients.
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Tumor-infiltrating PD1-Positive Lymphocytes and FoxP3-Positive Regulatory T Cells Predict Distant Metastatic Relapse and Survival of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma Myoung Jae Kang, Kyoung Min Kim, Jun Sang Bae, Ho Sung Park, Ho Lee, Myoung Ja Chung, Woo Sung Moon, Dong Geun Lee, Kyu Yun Jang Translational Oncology.2013; 6(3): 282. CrossRef
Significance of Foxp3 Positive Regulatory T Cell and Tumor Infiltrating T Lymphocyte in Triple Negative Breast Cancer Hanna Kang, Harin Cheong, Min Sun Cho, Heasoo Koo, Woon Sup Han, Kyung Eun Lee, Byung In Moon, Sun Hee Sung The Korean Journal of Pathology.2011; 45(1): 53. CrossRef