Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes and Tumor Budding: Emerging Prognostic Markers in Breast Cancer

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Pathology

Background:

• Invasive breast carcinoma of no special type (IBC-NST) is a major global health concern.
• Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) reflect anti-tumor immunity and are linked to favorable prognoses.
• Tumor budding (TB) is recognized as an indicator of tumor aggressiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate TILs and TB in IBC-NST cases.
• To correlate TILs and TB with various clinicopathological parameters.
• To explore the combined prognostic value of TILs and TB.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 90 IBC-NST cases.
• Quantification of stromal TILs (sTILs) and intratumoral TILs (iTILs) using H&E staining.
• Classification of tumor budding (TB) into low- and high-grade based on invasive front counts.

Main Results:

• Both sTILs and iTILs showed significant inverse correlations with tumor grade and mitotic count (p < 0.05).
• High-grade TB was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis, higher tumor grade, larger tumor size, and lymphovascular invasion (p < 0.05).
• A moderate, non-significant positive correlation was observed between sTILs and TB (r = 0.163, p = 0.124).

Conclusions:

• Elevated TIL levels are associated with favorable tumor characteristics in IBC-NST.
• Increased TB is indicative of aggressive histological features and poorer prognosis.
• Combined assessment of TILs and TB offers valuable prognostic information for tailoring breast cancer treatments.