High numbers and densities of pd1+ t-follicular helper cells in triple-negative breast cancer draining lymph nodes are associated with lower survival

Abstract

Breast cancer tumor draining lymph nodes (TDLNs) display distinct morphologic changes depending on the breast cancer subtype. For triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC), draining LNs display a higher amount of secondary lymphoid follicles, which can be regarded as a surrogate marker for an activated humoral immune response. In the present study, we focus on PD1+ T-follicular helper cells (Tfh) in TDLNs of TNBC, since PD1+ Tfh are drivers of the germinal center (GC) reaction. We quantified PD1+ Tfh in 22 sentinel LNs with 853 GCs and interfollicular areas from 19 patients with TNBC by morphometry from digitalized immunostained tissue sections. Overall survival was significantly worse for patients with a higher number and area density of PD1+ Tfh within GCs of TDLNs. Further, we performed T-cell receptor gamma chain (TRG) analysis from microdissected tissue in the primary tumor and TDLNs. Eleven patients showed the same TRG clones in the tumor and the LN. Five patients shared the same TRG clones in the tumor and the GCs. In two patients, those clones were highly enriched inside the GCs. Enrichment of identical TRG clones at the tumor site vs. the TDLN was associated with improved overall survival. TDLNs are important relays of cancer immunity and enable surrogate approaches to predict the outcome of TNBC itself.