Proteomic Analysis Identifies Association of Periostin, a Matricellular Protein, with High Tumor Stroma and Immune...

Immune-excluded/desert tumors show reduced responsiveness to immunotherapy compared to inflamed tumors. The tumor stroma contributes to immune evasion. This study aimed to identify proteins overexpressed in tumors with high tumor stroma among immune excluded triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) to better understand the mechanisms of immune exclusion.

Proteomic analysis was conducted on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples from 403 cases of TNBC. We compared protein expression between stroma-high versus stroma-low within the immune-excluded subtype. We investigated the correlations between the identified protein expression and other clinicopathologic features. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining and single-cell analysis were conducted, along with survival analysis.

Among the 247 eligible cases, 81 (32.8%) were classified as immune-excluded and 166 (67.2%) as inflamed. Within the excluded subtype, periostin was the only extracellular matrix-related protein significantly overexpressed in stroma-high cases. Periostin expression demonstrated a positive correlation with the amount of stroma (r=0.51, p < 0.001) and a negative correlation with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) (r=-0.30, p < 0.001). Periostin expression in the tumor stroma was confirmed by IHC. Single-cell analysis demonstrated that periostin originated from cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). High periostin levels correlated with poorer recurrence-free survival (hazard ratio, 1.422; p=0.005).

Periostin is overexpressed in stroma-rich, immune-excluded TNBC and is derived from CAFs. Its expression is associated with reduced TILs and poor prognosis. The development of targeted agents against periostin-positive CAFs may help overcome immune evasion and improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy in TNBC.