Crucial Contributions by T Lymphocytes (Effector, Regulatory, and Checkpoint Inhibitor) and Cytokines (TH1, TH2, and TH17) to a Pathological Complete Response Induced by Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Women with Breast Cancer
Table 5
T cell subsets infiltrating tumours (intratumoural, stromal) in women with LLABCs(1): significant reduction with NAC(2).
T cell subsets ()
Groups
Pre-NAC Median (range)(3)
Post-NAC Median (range)(3)
value(4) Pre-versus post-NAC
CD4+
Intratumoural infiltration
15.4 (2.6–171.0)
3.0 (0.0–71.6)
0.010
Stromal infiltration
45.6 (6.8–242.0)
6.3 (1.2–236.0)
0.006
CD8+
Intratumoural infiltration
20.2 (3.4–202.4)
10.3 (0.0–83.6)
0.278
Stromal infiltration
43.6 (1.8–201.6)
27.1 (1.6–144.6)
0.326
FOXP3+
Intratumoural infiltration
14.8 (2.4–96.8)
0.7 (0.0–22.2)
0.001
Stromal Infiltration
15.9 (2.2–110.6)
1.4 (0.4–28.4)
0.001
CTLA-4+
Intratumoural infiltration
0.4 (0.0–4.0)
0.1 (0.0–1.2)
0.060
Stromal infiltration
0.6 (0.2–10.0)
0.1 (0.0–5.2)
0.029
PD-1+
Intratumoural infiltration
0.7 (0.0–57.4)
0.0 (0.0–0.6)
0.005
Stromal infiltration
1.5 (0.0–81.2)
0.0 (0.0–4.0)
0.016
LLABCs: large and locally advanced breast cancers; (2)NAC: neoadjuvant chemotherapy; (3)average cell count per x high-power field; (4)Wilcoxon signed rank test; statistically significant.
