PurposeTumour-stroma ratio (TSR) is an important prognostic and predictive factor in several tumour types. The aim of this study is to determine whether TSR evaluated in breast cancer core biopsies... Show morePurposeTumour-stroma ratio (TSR) is an important prognostic and predictive factor in several tumour types. The aim of this study is to determine whether TSR evaluated in breast cancer core biopsies is representative of the whole tumour.MethodDifferent TSR scoring methods, their reproducibility, and the association of TSR with clinicopathological characteristics were investigated in 178 breast carcinoma core biopsies and corresponding resection specimens. TSR was assessed by two trained scientists on the most representative H&E-stained digitised slides. Patients were treated primarily with surgery between 2010 and 2021 at Semmelweis University, Budapest.ResultsNinety-one percent of the tumours were hormone receptor (HR)-positive (luminal-like). Interobserver agreement was highest using 100 x magnification (kappa(core) = 0.906, kappa(resection specimen) = 0.882). The agreement between TSR of core biopsies and resection specimens of the same patients was moderate (kappa = 0.514). Differences between the two types of samples were most frequent in cases with TSR scores close to the 50% cut-off point. TSR was strongly correlated with age at diagnosis, pT category, histological type, histological grade, and surrogate molecular subtype. A tendency was identified for more recurrences among stroma-high (SH) tumours (p = 0.07). Significant correlation was detected between the TSR and tumour recurrence in grade 1 HR-positive breast cancer cases (p = 0.03).ConclusionsTSR is easy to determine and reproducible on both core biopsies and in resection specimens and is associated with several clinicopathological characteristics of breast cancer. TSR scored on core biopsies is moderately representative for the whole tumour. Show less
A type I immune response is crucial for adequate tumor eradication by the immune system. However, tumors often gain evasion mechanisms that create barriers to the generation or effectiveness of a... Show moreA type I immune response is crucial for adequate tumor eradication by the immune system. However, tumors often gain evasion mechanisms that create barriers to the generation or effectiveness of a type I immune response. Among these barriers is the suppression of effective T cell priming and the inhibition of proper T cell infiltration and function in tumors. At present, the only therapies to target these barriers are focused on direct inhibition of T cell function by the tumor, through checkpoint molecules. These therapies are thus dependent on an existing type I response, and are generally not successful when tumors have insufficient T cells primed or infiltrated. This thesis has revealed ways to improve T cell priming and the infiltration of T cells in tumors. Show less
Tanis, E.; Velde, C.J.H. van de; Bartelink, H.; Vijver, M.J. van de; Putter, H.; Hage, J.A. van der 2012
