The role of peripheral T lymphocyte subsets and PD-1 expression as a biomarker for neoadjuvant treatment response in...

The prognostic and predictive role of the interaction of the immune system with the tumor during the disease process has become increasingly important in recent years. T lymphocyte subgroups in peripheral blood can be used to monitor this dynamic interaction. We evaluated the relationship between baseline peripheral T lymphocyte subsets and treatment response (best objective response) in 47 breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

This study investigated the impact of initial peripheral T lymphocyte subsets on neoadjuvant chemotherapy response in patients with invasive ductal breast. A total of 47 consecutive patients whose peripheral blood samples were able was included in the study group. The patients' T lymphocyte subsets were measured before treatment. The patients were then followed up to assess their treatment response.

In our study, we found a significant negative relationship between baseline CD3, CD4, and CD8 absolute counts and pathologic complete response. We also found that high CD4/programmed cell death protein 1 expression (OR: 0.212, 95% CI: 0.061-0.735, P = .015) and high CD8/programmed cell death protein 1 expression (OR: 0.250, 95% CI: 0.073-0.858, P = .028) from baseline peripheral T lymphocyte were correlated with poor pathologic complete response.

These results suggest that T lymphocyte subsets may be a predictive biomarker for treatment response in patients with breast cancer undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and to identify the optimal T lymphocyte subset for predicting treatment response.