A new study suggests some women with an aggressive form of breast cancer may do better without chemotherapy.
Researchers found patients with triple-negative breast cancer who had high levels of immune cells within their tumors
had a lower risk of recurrence after surgery and better survival rates without chemo.
These immune cells, known as tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), are able to move from the bloodstream into a tumor and recognize and destroy cancer cells, the researchers said.
They analyzed data from nearly 2,000 patients with early-stage, triple-negative breast cancer who had surgery, but no chemotherapy.
Five years after surgery, 95% of participants with stage 1 tumors that had high TILS were alive, compared to 82% of those with low TILS.
And their recurrence rate was significantly lower.
TILs aren’t currently measured or reported in the routine examination of tissue samples of breast cancer.
But the lead author says, “The results of this study could lead to a recommendation to include TILs in the pathology reports of early-stage TNBC worldwide…”
Triple negative breast cancer spreads rapidly and is more common in younger people.
Source:
JAMA
Author Affiliations:
Mayo Clinic
Gustave Roussy
Oncostat
University Paris-Saclay
International Immuno-Oncology Biomarker Working Group
Erivan K. Haub Family Professor of Cancer Research
