title: The numbers of FoxP3+ lymphocytes in sentinel lymph nodes of breast cancer patients correlate with primary tumor size but not nodal status.
abstract: Regulatory T cells, lymphocytes marked by expression of the transcription factor Forkhead Box Protein P3 (FoxP3), inhibit the activation of tumor-specific T cells in tumor-draining lymph nodes. Immunohistochemical analyses of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) from 104 breast cancer patients showed a significant association (p = .0028, Pearson correlation) between the number of FoxP3+ cells and the size of primary breast invasive ductal carcinoma. In contrast, there was no correlation between the number of FoxP3+ cells and the presence of SLN metastases, or other clinicopathological parameters. These results suggest the presence of an immune suppressive environment in SLNs of larger tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, New York University of Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: Raavi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: James S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Babb
authors.forename: Baljit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chiriboga
authors.forename: Leonard
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liebes
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Demaria
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008875:Middle Aged; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: C418974:FOXP3 protein, human; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors