Accumulation of regulatory T cells in sentinel lymph nodes is a prognostic predictor in patients with node-negative breast cancer.
It has been revealed that sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) from patients with node-negative breast cancer involve RT-PCR detected micrometastases and isolated tumour cells. However, the prognostic significance of the pathologically undetectable micrometastases is still controversial. In this study, we evaluated Foxp3 positive regulatory T cells (Treg) in SLNs as host-side immune marker that has the potential to detect these micrometastases. In the analyses of training set (n=30), elevated Treg was strongly associated with the pathologically undetectable micrometastases. In the analyses of validation set (n=129) in patients with node-negative, relapse-free survival in patients with elevated Treg was significantly shorter than those with lower Treg (p=0.005). Furthermore, in multivariate analyses, elevated Treg was correlated with relapse-free survival (p=0.012). Our data indicate that Treg may increase in the microenvironment of SLNs along with pathologically undetectable micrometastases and is a prognostic predictor in patients with node-negative breast cancer.
Nakamura
Rikiya
R
Department of General Surgery, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuoku, Chiba 260-8677, Japan.
Sakakibara
Masahiro
M
Nagashima
Takeshi
T
Sangai
Takafumi
T
Arai
Manabu
M
Fujimori
Toshihiko
T
Takano
Shigetsugu
S
Shida
Takashi
T
Nakatani
Yukio
Y
Miyazaki
Masaru
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C418974:FOXP3 protein, human; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors