Peripheral cytotoxic T lymphocyte predicts first-line progression free survival in HER2-positive advanced breast cancer

Persistence of peripheral CD8 + CD28- T cells indicates a favourable outcome and tumour immunity in first-line HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer

BACKGROUND

The contradictory role of CD8 + CD28- T cells in tumour immunity has been reported, while their biological and clinical significance in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is still unknown.

METHODS

HER2-positive MBC patients with no prior therapy in the metastatic setting were retrospectively recruited at two medical centres. Peripheral CD8 + CD28- T cells (pTCD8+CD28-) were detected at baseline and following therapeutic intervals. Progression-free survival (PFS) was compared according to pTCD8+CD28- levels. The molecular features of pTCD8+CD28- and its correlation with tumour immunity were also investigated.

RESULTS

A total of 252 patients were enrolled, and the median follow-up time was 29.6 months. pTCD8+CD28- high at baseline has prolonged PFS compared to pTCD8+CD28- low (P = 0.001). Patients who maintained pTCD8+CD28- high had a longer PFS than those who kept pTCD8+CD28- low (P < 0.001). The enhanced pTCD8+CD28- level also indicates a longer PFS compared to pTCD8+CD28- low (P = 0.025). Here, pTCD8+CD28- was demonstrated as an antigen-experienced effector T cell. Higher IL-2 level (P = 0.034) and lower TGF-β level (P = 0.016) in the serum and highly infiltrated CD8 + CD28- T cells (P = 0.037) were also connected to pTCD8+CD28- high.

CONCLUSIONS

High pTCD8+CD28- level is associated with a favourable tumour immunity and a better PFS of HER2-targeting therapy in MBC patients.

Immune characteristics and clinical significance of peripheral blood lymphocytes in breast cancer

BACKGROUND

In the context of breast cancer (BC), the correlation between lymphocytes and clinical outcomes, along with treatment response, has garnered attention. Despite this, few investigations have delved into the interplay among distinct peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) types, immune attributes, and their clinical implications within the BC landscape.

METHODS

The primary objective of this study was to scrutinize the baseline status of PBL subsets in patients with primary BC, track their dynamic changes throughout treatment, and ascertain their interrelation with prognosis. Flow cytometry was employed to analyse PBLs from a cohort of 74 BC patients.

RESULTS

Our analysis revealed that baseline levels of Treg and PD-L1 + T cells were lower in BC patients compared to the reference values. Notably, a disparity in baseline PD-L1 + T cell levels surfaced between patients who underwent adjuvant therapy and those subjected to neoadjuvant therapy (NAT). Furthermore, a meticulous evaluation of PBL subsets before and after treatment underscored discernible alterations in 324 + T cells and CD19 + CD32 + B cells over the course of therapy. Strikingly, heightened CD4 + T cell levels at baseline were linked to enhanced event-free survival (EFS) (p = 0.02) and a robust response to chemotherapy.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that PBLs may serve as a significant marker to assess the immune status of BC patients, and therapy has the potential to modify patient immune profiles. In addition, peripheral blood CD4 + T cell levels may serve as promising biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis in future studies of BC.

Prognostic Value of Pretreatment Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer

This study aimed to examine the prognostic value of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and other clinicopathological features in HER2+ MBC patients who received first-line anti-HER2 therapy. A total of 129 patients were assigned to NLR-low and NLR-high groups based on a cutoff value of 3.0 at baseline. Peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets and gene mutations in circulating tumor DNA were analyzed by flow cytometry and Next-generation sequencing, respectively. Survival was evaluated by the Kaplan−Meier method and Cox regression analysis. Of the 129 patients, 77 and 52 were assigned to the NLR-low (≤3) and NLR-high (>3) groups, respectively. Compared with NLR-high patients, the NLR-low patients had significantly longer median progression-free survival (PFS) (11.7 vs. 7.7 months) (p = 0.001, HR = 2.703 95% CI 1.543−4.736 and overall survival (OS) (37.4 vs. 28.7 months) (p = 0.044, HR = 2.254 95% CI 1.024−4.924). Furthermore, this association was independent of metastatic sites or estrogen receptor status. Peripheral blood CD3+ (p = 0.034) and CD4+ (p = 0.010) T cell numbers were significantly higher in the NLR-low group than the NLR-high group. The mutational profile of MBC was generally similar between the two groups. Baseline NLR was a prognostic factor of PFS and OS for patients with HER2+ MBC in the first-line setting. These results may facilitate the selection of patients who will benefit most from anti-HER2 treatment.

Salutary effects of moderate but not high intensity aerobic exercise training on the frequency of peripheral T-cells associated with immunosenescence in older women at high risk of breast cancer: a randomized controlled trial

Background

Immunosenescence is described as age-associated changes within the immune system that are responsible for decreased immunity and increased cancer risk. Physically active individuals have fewer ‘senescent’ and more naïve T-cells compared to their sedentary counterparts, but it is not known if exercise training can rejuvenate ‘older looking’ T-cell profiles. We determined the effects of 12-weeks supervised exercise training on the frequency of T-cell subtypes in peripheral blood and their relationships with circulating levels of the muscle-derived cytokines (i.e. ‘myokines’) IL-6, IL-7, IL-15 and osteonectin in older women at high risk of breast cancer. The intervention involved 3 sessions/week of either high intensity interval exercise (HIIT) or moderate intensity continuous exercise (MICT) and were compared to an untrained control (UC) group.

Results

HIIT decreased total granulocytes, CD4+ T-cells, CD4+ naïve T-cells, CD4+ recent thymic emigrants (RTE) and the CD4:CD8 ratio after training, whereas MICT increased total lymphocytes and CD8 effector memory (EM) T-cells. The change in total T-cells, CD4+ naïve T-cells, CD4+ central memory (CM) T-cells and CD4+ RTE was elevated after MICT compared to HIIT. Changes in \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$ \dot{\mathrm{V}}{\mathrm{O}}_{2\max } $$\end{document}V˙O2max after training, regardless of exercise prescription, was inversely related to the change in highly differentiated CD8+ EMRA T-cells and positively related to changes in β2-adrenergic receptor (β2-AR) expression on CM CD4+ and CM CD8+ T-cells. Plasma myokine levels did not change significantly among the groups after training, but individual changes in IL-7 were positively related to changes in the number of β2-AR expressing CD4 naïve T cells in both exercise groups but not controls. Further, CD4 T-cells and CD4 naive T-cells were negatively related to changes in IL-6 and osteonectin after HIIT but not MICT, whereas CD8 EMRA T-cells were inversely related to changes in IL-15 after MICT but not HIIT.

Conclusions

Aerobic exercise training alters the frequency of peripheral T-cells associated with immunosenescence in middle aged/older women at high risk of breast cancer, with HIIT (pro-senescent) and MICT (anti-senescent) evoking divergent effects. Identifying the underlying mechanisms and establishing whether exercise-induced changes in peripheral T-cell numbers can alter the risk of developing breast cancer warrants investigation.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12979-022-00266-z.

Predictive and Prognostic Role of Peripheral Blood T-Cell Subsets in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Background

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), as a highly aggressive and metastatic tumor, can still not contain the medical needs. It has become an urgent problem to develop prognostic markers further and realize precision medicine. The predictive and prognostic significance of peripheral blood lymphocytes, as well as the clinicopathological factors affecting them, were explored in the present study.

Methods

The clinicopathological data of 278 patients with TNBC were collected and analyzed retrospectively. Peripheral blood lymphocytes (pBL) and blood routine indexes before treatment were quantified by flow cytometry analysis. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier curve and Cox hazard proportion regression model. The associations between hematologic parameters and treatment response and clinicopathological characteristics were estimated by the Mann-Whitney test and Spearman test.

Results

Compared with all blood routine indexes, only a significant correlation between better treatment efficacy and higher peripheral CD4 +/CD8 + ratio of TNBC patients was observed (P=0.059), particularly those treated with chemotherapy combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors (P=0.048). Among the pBL subsets, CD4 + T lymphocyte was the only independent factor that could predict the prognosis of metastatic TNBC. Patients presenting higher values of peripheral CD4 + T lymphocytes showed longer PFS (median PFS 9 months vs. 5 months; HR =0.65, 95%CI: 0.440-0.973, P = 0.032) and OS (median OS 31 months vs. 16 months; HR=0 .63, 95%CI: 0.417-0.940, P< 0.01). Especially CD4+ was found predictive for prognosis in TNBC patients who received chemotherapy (P<0.05). Finally, the older age, higher clinical stage, and more advanced treatment lines were related to the lower level of CD4 +. The older age and having received neoadjuvant therapy were related to the lower CD4 +/CD8 + ratio (P<0.05).

Conclusion

The baseline CD4+/CD8+ cell ratio in peripheral blood is associated with therapeutic response, especially for chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy. Peripheral CD4+ cells can steadily predict all clinical outcomes for patients with mTNBC, and this clinical prognosis prediction is significantly related to chemotherapy. Peripheral CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+ are both closely associated with clinicopathological parameters.