Association of FOXP3+tumor infiltrating lymphocytes with poor prognosis of primary breast cancer:a retrospective cohort study
Objective To detect the expression of FOXP3+TILs in primary invasive breast cancer,analyze the correlation between the expression level of FOXP3+TILs and the clinicopathological characteristics of breast cancer,and explore the relationship between FOXP3+TILs and the prognosis of breast cancer.Method Surgically resected samples from 156 patients with invasive breast cancer(BC)were assessed for the expression of FOXP3+TILs and CD4+TILs by immunohistochemistry.The correlation between FOXP3+TILs and the patients'clinicopathological characteristics was explored.Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression model were used to assess the correlation between FOXP3+TILs and breast cancer-specific survival,and to stratify the evaluation of breast cancer subtypes.Result Elevated FOXP3+TILs infiltration were significantly correlated with high histological grade(P=0.021),positive human epidermal growth factor receptor-2(HER-2)(P=0.018),Progesterone receptor expression(PR)(P=0.016),high Ki-67 index(P=0.042)and axillary lymph node metastases(P=0.001).There was no significant correlation between CD4+TILs expression and the clinicopathological features of all patients.Tumors with concomitant high expressions of FOXP3+TILs had worse overall survival(OS)and disease-free survival(DFS)(64.7%vs 87.6%,χ2=15.3,P<0.001;56.9%vs 80.0%,χ2=13.1,P<0.001).The patients with axillary lymph node metastases with the high expressions of FOXP3+TILs infiltration had worse DFS(P<0.001).Multivariate analysis showed that FOXP3+TILs was independent predictors of OS(HR=2.732,95%CI=1.174~6.207,P=0.023)and DFS(HR=2.092,95%CI=1.068~4.088,P=0.032).Conclusion The high expression of FOXP3+TILs in breast cancer is associated with tumor progression,higher expression of FOXP3+TILs indicates wores OS and DFS,FOXP3+TILs maybe a prognostic marker for breast cancer.
Breast cancerFOXP3+tumor infiltrating lymphocyteOverall survivalDisease-free survival