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Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell Populations Correlate with Outcome in Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer

Larsson, Anna Maria LU ; Nordström, Olle ; Johansson, Alexandra ; Rydén, Lisa LU orcid ; Leandersson, Karin LU orcid and Bergenfelz, Caroline LU orcid (2022) In Cells 11(10).
Abstract

Local tumor-associated immune cells hold prognostic and predictive value in various forms of malignancy. The role of systemic, circulating leukocytes is, however, not well-characterized. In this prospective and explorative study, we aim to delineate the clinical relevance of a broad panel of circulating immune cells in 32 patients with newly diagnosed metastatic breast cancer (MBC) before the start of systemic treatment. Freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were analyzed by flow cytometry and evaluated for potential associations to clinicopathological variables and patient outcome. We show that the levels of specific circulating leukocyte populations are associated with clinical parameters such as hormone receptor... (More)

Local tumor-associated immune cells hold prognostic and predictive value in various forms of malignancy. The role of systemic, circulating leukocytes is, however, not well-characterized. In this prospective and explorative study, we aim to delineate the clinical relevance of a broad panel of circulating immune cells in 32 patients with newly diagnosed metastatic breast cancer (MBC) before the start of systemic treatment. Freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were analyzed by flow cytometry and evaluated for potential associations to clinicopathological variables and patient outcome. We show that the levels of specific circulating leukocyte populations are associated with clinical parameters such as hormone receptor status, histological subtype, number of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and metastatic burden. Importantly, high levels of CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are significantly linked to improved overall survival (OS). In patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive primary tumors, high levels of circulating CTLs and non-classical (CD14+CD16++) monocytes were associated with improved OS, whereas in patients with ER-negative tumors low levels of circulating natural killer (NK) cells potentially associate with improved OS. We propose that the levels of specific circulating immune cell populations, such as CD8+ CTLs, may be used to predict clinical outcomes in MBC patients. Thus, larger studies are warranted to validate these findings.

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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
lymphocytes, metastatic breast cancer, myeloid cells, peripheral blood, prognosis
in
Cells
volume
11
issue
10
article number
1639
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • pmid:35626676
  • scopus:85129806697
ISSN
2073-4409
DOI
10.3390/cells11101639
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
d77d5935-3421-4786-ba66-e275ba7377b4
date added to LUP
2022-12-08 11:37:23
date last changed
2024-06-26 18:22:19
@article{d77d5935-3421-4786-ba66-e275ba7377b4,
  abstract     = {{<p>Local tumor-associated immune cells hold prognostic and predictive value in various forms of malignancy. The role of systemic, circulating leukocytes is, however, not well-characterized. In this prospective and explorative study, we aim to delineate the clinical relevance of a broad panel of circulating immune cells in 32 patients with newly diagnosed metastatic breast cancer (MBC) before the start of systemic treatment. Freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were analyzed by flow cytometry and evaluated for potential associations to clinicopathological variables and patient outcome. We show that the levels of specific circulating leukocyte populations are associated with clinical parameters such as hormone receptor status, histological subtype, number of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and metastatic burden. Importantly, high levels of CD8<sup>+</sup> cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are significantly linked to improved overall survival (OS). In patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive primary tumors, high levels of circulating CTLs and non-classical (CD14<sup>+</sup>CD16<sup>++</sup>) monocytes were associated with improved OS, whereas in patients with ER-negative tumors low levels of circulating natural killer (NK) cells potentially associate with improved OS. We propose that the levels of specific circulating immune cell populations, such as CD8<sup>+</sup> CTLs, may be used to predict clinical outcomes in MBC patients. Thus, larger studies are warranted to validate these findings.</p>}},
  author       = {{Larsson, Anna Maria and Nordström, Olle and Johansson, Alexandra and Rydén, Lisa and Leandersson, Karin and Bergenfelz, Caroline}},
  issn         = {{2073-4409}},
  keywords     = {{lymphocytes; metastatic breast cancer; myeloid cells; peripheral blood; prognosis}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{05}},
  number       = {{10}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{Cells}},
  title        = {{Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell Populations Correlate with Outcome in Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cells11101639}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/cells11101639}},
  volume       = {{11}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}