AMIE implementation report: Breast Cancer : In survival analysis, absolute numbers of TILs do not represent major prognostic indicators a ratio > 1 of total FOXP3+/CD4+ TILs

subject: Ductal and lobular breast cancers appear to be infiltrated by different lymphocyte subpopulations. In ductal cancers increased CD4+ and FOXP3+ TIL numbers are associated with more aggressive tumor features. In survival analysis, absolute numbers of TILs do not represent major prognostic indicators in ductal and lobular breast cancer. Remarkably however, a ratio > 1 of total FOXP3+/CD4+ TILs in ductal carcinoma appears to represent an independent favorable prognostic factor.
object_opposite: Ratio < 1 of total FOXP3+/CD4+ TILs in ductal carcinoma appears to represent an independent unfavorable prognostic factor.
misc: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are frequently considered to reflect host immune response against malignant tumors [1]. TILs have been shown to infiltrate a variety of tumors of diverse histological origin [2,3]. Their exquisite tumor specificity has been demonstrated in a number of cases and it has led to the characterization of tumor associated antigens. Although resident TILs have frequently been reported to be in a functionally "anergic" state [4,5], importantly, following "ex vivo" culture, TILs have been used to treat different types of cancers [6]. In line with these data, tumor infiltration by T lymphocytes has been shown to be associated with favorable prognosis, particularly in melanoma and colorectal cancers [2,7]. On the other hand, tumor infiltration by T-lymphocytes subsets endowed with immuno-regulatory or suppressive potential, e.g. CD4+ T-cells expressing FOXP3 transcription factor, has been suggested to be associated with tumor progression and unfavorable prognosis [8]. More recently, a CD4+ T-cell subset producing IL-17 has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several autoimmune diseases [9]. However, the role of the so-called Th17 in antitumor immunity is still debated [10-13]
author_year: Raoul Droeser/Inti Zlobec/ Ergin Kilic / Uwe Güth/ Michael Heberer/, Giulio Spagnoli/ Daniel Oertli1 / Coya Tapia/2012
journal_volume_page: http://1.usa.gov/1DWHklJ BMC Cancer / 12/134