NLR、PLR、LMR与乳腺癌新辅助化疗疗效及预后的关系研究

摘要 目的：探讨化疗前外周血中性粒细胞与淋巴细胞比值（NLR）、血小板与淋巴细胞比值（PLR）、淋巴细胞与单核细胞比值（LMR）与乳腺癌患者新辅助化疗疗效及预后的关系。方法：选择2016年10月至2018年1月在安徽医科大学附属安庆第一人民医院进行新辅助化疗的乳腺癌患者105例为研究对象,根据新辅助化疗疗效分为病理完全缓解（pCR）组（26例）和非pCR组（79例）。比较pCR组和非pCR组化疗前外周血NLR、PLR、LMR;采用受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线分析化疗前外周血NLR、PLR、LMR对乳腺癌患者新辅助化疗病理疗效预测价值。所有患者术后随访5年,根据ROC曲线确定的NLR、PLR、LMR最佳截断值分为高NLR、PLR、LMR组和低NLR、PLR、LMR组,采用K-M生存曲线分析不同NLR、PLR、LMR组5年无病生存期（DFS）;单因素和多因素COX回归分析预后不良的影响因素。结果：pCR组化疗前NLR、PLR均低于非pCR组（P＜0.05）,LMR高于非pCR组（P＜0.05）。化疗前NLR、PLR、LMR三项联合预测新辅助化疗病理疗效的曲线下面积（AUC）均大于各指标单独预测。K-M生存曲线分析显示,化疗前高NLR、PLR组5年DFS分别低于低NLR、PLR组（P＜0.05）,高LMR组5年DFS高于低LMR组（P＜0.05）;多因素COX回归分析显示,NLR、PLR升高是乳腺癌预后的危险因素,LMR升高是保护因素（P<0.05）。结论：pCR组化疗前NLR、PLR更低,LMR更高,高NLR、PLR和低LMR患者5年DFS更低。NLR、PLR、LMR对新辅助化疗病理疗效具有一定的预测价值,三项联合能为乳腺癌的新辅助化疗评估提供重要参考依据。     

初诊腋窝淋巴结阳性乳腺癌新辅助化疗后对腋窝淋巴结转阴性前哨活检的影响分析

摘要 目的：探究对初诊腋窝淋巴结阳性乳腺癌行新辅助化疗患者开展腋窝前哨淋巴结活检的临床意义。方法：选择2017年1月至2020年10月于我院接受改良根治术或保乳术治疗的100例初诊腋窝淋巴结阳性乳腺癌患者,将其中50例病理检测II B、III期行4~8个疗程新辅助化疗后实施前哨淋巴结活检患者设为研究组,将50例I、II A期直接行前哨淋巴结活检患者设为对照组,对比两组患者前哨淋巴结检出率、准确率、假阴性率和灵敏度,同时就患者病理特征与前哨淋巴结检出率的相关性开展分析。结果：（1）比较显示研究组患者与对照组患者在前哨淋巴结检出数、前哨淋巴结检出率以及前哨淋巴结假阴性率方面组间差异不大（P>0.05）;（2）病理学特征分析显示肿瘤直径以及临床N分期同新辅助化疗后患者前哨淋巴结检出阳性率密切相关（P<0.05）。结论：对初诊腋窝淋巴结阳性行新辅助化疗乳腺癌患者实施前哨淋巴结活检具有较显示的临床意义,能够较好的预测患者腋窝淋巴结状况,同时化疗前肿瘤直径、临床N分期是影响前哨淋巴结检出率的重要影响因素。     

术前预后营养指数与可切除非小细胞肺癌患者术后生活质量和远期预后的关系研究

摘要 目的：探讨术前预后营养指数（PNI）与可切除非小细胞肺癌（NSCLC）患者术后生活质量和远期预后的关系。方法：选择2015年2月-2017年2月期间我院收治的400例可切除NSCLC患者,根据术前PNI将患者分为高PNI组（PNI≥50,235例）和低PNI组（PNI＜50,165例）。患者术后住院期间生活质量采用健康状况调查简表（SF-36）评估。所有患者均采用门诊复查和电话随访的方式随访3年,Kaplan-Meier生存分析不同PNI指数下可切除NSCLC患者无进展生存期（PFS）生存率、总生存期（OS）生存率,Cox风险比例回归分析可切除NSCLC患者远期预后的影响因素。结果：高PNI组术后SF-36各项评分和总分,PFS生存率、OS生存率均高于低PNI组（P＜0.05）。多因素Cox风险比例回归分析显示TNM分期Ⅲa期、低PNI是可切除NSCLC患者远期预后的影响因素（P＜0.05）。结论：术前高PNI可切除NSCLC患者近期生活质量和远期生存率均高于低PNI者,术前PNI可能作为可切除NSCLC患者远期预后评估的辅助指标。     

乳腺癌组织表皮生长因子受体、细胞角蛋白5/6、上皮钙黏蛋白表达与预后的关系研究

摘要 目的：探讨乳腺癌组织表皮生长因子受体(EGFR)、细胞角蛋白5/6(CK5/6)、上皮钙黏蛋白(E-Cad)表达与预后的关系。方法：选取我院(2015年1月～2017年12月)收治的100例接受乳腺外科手术治疗的乳腺癌患者,免疫组织化学检测乳腺癌组织和癌旁组织中EGFR、CK5/6、E-Cad表达。比较乳腺癌组织与癌旁组织中EGFR、CK5/6、E-Cad的阳性表达率,分析乳腺癌组织中EGFR、CK5/6、E-Cad表达与临床病理特征的关系,Kaplan-Meier曲线分析EGFR、CK5/6、E-Cad不同表达患者的无病生存期(DFS)和总生存期(OS)曲线,多因素Cox回归分析乳腺癌预后的影响因素。结果：乳腺癌组织中EGFR、CK5/6的阳性表达率明显高于癌旁组织,E-Cad的阳性表达率明显低于癌旁组织(P＜0.05)。乳腺癌组织中EGFR、E-Cad阳性表达率与分化程度、TNM分期相关(P＜0.05),与年龄、肿瘤直径、病理类型无关(P＞0.05);CK5/6阳性表达率与年龄、肿瘤直径、分化程度、TNM分期无关(P＞0.05),与病理类型相关(P＜0.05)。Kaplan-Meier生存曲线显示,EGFR、CK5/6阳性表达患者3年DFS和OS明显低于阴性表达患者,E-Cad阳性表达患者3年DFS和OS明显高于阴性表达患者(P＜0.05)。多因素Cox回归分析显示,TNM分期Ⅲ期(HR=5.756,95%CI：1.535～21.591)、EGFR阳性(HR=8.090,95%CI：0.954～68.616)、CK5/6阳性(HR=4.507,95%CI：0.466～43.593)为乳腺癌预后独立危险因素,E-Cad阳性(HR=0.221,95%CI：0.048～1.020)为乳腺癌预后独立保护因素(P＜0.05)。结论：乳腺癌组织中EGFR、CK5/6表达明显升高,E-Cad表达明显降低,三者为乳腺癌患者预后独立影响因素。     

Luminal B型乳腺癌不同亚型的临床病理特征及预后生存分析

摘要 目的：分析Luminal B型乳腺癌不同亚型患者的临床病理特征以及预后差异。方法：回顾性分析2006年1月至2016年1月期间上海市第六人民医院徐汇院区和临港院区收治的359例原发性Luminal B型乳腺癌患者的临床病理以及随访资料,根据Luminal B型乳腺癌分子亚型分为人表皮生长受体2（Her-2）阴性组（266例）和Her-2阳性组（93例）。比较两组患者的临床病理特征差异。绘制Kaplan-Meier生存曲线,分析两组患者5年无进展生存率和总生存率的差异,采用Cox风险比例回归分析Luminal B型乳腺癌患者预后的影响因素。结果：Her-2阳性组TNM分期Ⅲ～Ⅳ期、肿瘤组织学分级Ⅲ级、PR阴性、Ki-67高表达、淋巴结转移比例高于Her-2阴性组（P＜0.05）。Her-2阳性组5年DFS、OS生存率分别为12.90%、40.86%,分别低于Her-2阴性组的24.06%、59.77%（Log-Rankχ²=14.500、12.860,P=0.000、0.000）。TNM分期Ⅲ～Ⅳ期、淋巴结转移、Her-2阳性、PR阴性是Luminal B型乳腺癌患者不良预后的危险因素（P＜0.05）。结论：Luminal B 型乳腺癌患者不同分子亚型的TNM分期、肿瘤组织学分级、淋巴结转移、Ki-67和PR表达存在差异,同时,TNM分期、淋巴结转移、Her-2阳性、PR阴性是Luminal B 型乳腺癌患者预后不良的危险因素。     

血清cfDNA、VEGFA与晚期胃癌患者化疗疗效和预后的关系研究

摘要 目的：研究血清循环游离脱氧核糖核酸（cfDNA）、血管内皮生长因子A（VEGFA）与晚期胃癌患者化疗疗效和预后的关系。方法：选取2018年6月~2020年6月在空军第九八六医院接受含奥沙利铂方案化疗的晚期胃癌患者108例,所有患者均接受含奥沙利铂方案化疗,化疗2个周期后,根据实体瘤疗效评价标准（RECIST）1.1版评估疗效分为敏感组和不敏感组,比较两组血清cfDNA、VEGFA水平;随访24个月,Kaplan-Meier生存曲线分析血清cfDNA、VEGFA高表达和低表达组的总生存期（OS）,采用Cox风险比例模型进行预后多因素分析。结果：不敏感组血清cfDNA、VEGFA水平显著高于敏感组（P＜0.05）。cfDNA、VEGFA高表达组患者中位OS均明显短于cfDNA、VEGFA低表达组（P＜0.05）。Cox回归模型单因素分析显示,性别、年龄、部位与晚期胃癌预后无关（P＞0.05）,而TNM分期Ⅳ期、分化程度低分化、有淋巴结转移、化疗疗效不敏感、cfDNA高水平、VEGFA高水平与晚期胃癌预后差显著相关（P＜0.05）。Cox回归模型多因素分析显示,淋巴结转移、化疗疗效不敏感及cfDNA、VEGFA水平高是晚期胃癌患者预后的危险因素（P＜0.05）。结论：血清cfDNA、VEGFA水平检测有助于晚期胃癌患者化疗疗效监测和预后评估。     

三阴乳腺癌新辅助化疗的预后与Ki-67、TOPK的表达情况相关性研究

摘要 目的：研究三阴乳腺癌（TNBC）新辅助化疗（NACT）的预后与Ki-67、TOPK的表达情况的相关性。方法：回顾性收集2014年3月至2016年6月期间我院收治并行NACT的TNBC患者90例作为研究对象,免疫组化法检测肿瘤组织中Ki-67和TOPK的表达,分析两者的表达与患者临床资料的关系,应用COX回归模型进行生存分析,分析影响TNBC患者预后的独立危险因素。结果：在治疗情况方面,91.11 %（82/90）的患者接受了≥4个周期的NACT治疗,84.44 %（76/90）的患者接受了手术治疗,术后pCR为22.22 %（20/90）,ORR为75.56 %（68/90）。为期5年的随访中,90例患者中共死亡8例（死于TNBC者6例,其他原因2例）,失访2例;治疗后Ki-67和TOPK的阳性率均显著低于治疗前（P＜0.05）;Ki-67、TOPK阳性和阴性表达病例在不同TNM分期、淋巴结是否转移上具有显著性差异（P＜0.05）;Ki-67和TOPK阳性表达患者的无进展生存期（PFS）和总生存期（OS）显著短于阴性表达者（P＜0.05）;TNM分期、淋巴结转移、Ki-67和TOPK阳性表达均为影响TNBC患者预后的独立危险因素。结论：Ki-67和TOPK在TNBC组织中的表达与患者的病理学特征及预后密切相关,是影响预后的独立危险因素。     

血清骨桥蛋白、胸苷激酶1、成纤维细胞生长因子受体4与局部晚期宫颈癌患者新辅助化疗疗效的关系研究

摘要 目的：探讨血清骨桥蛋白（OPN）、胸苷激酶1（TK1）、成纤维细胞生长因子受体4（FGFR4）与局部晚期宫颈癌（LACC）患者新辅助化疗疗效的关系。方法：选择2011年8月至2019年7月贵州医科大学附属肿瘤医院收治的160例LACC患者,均接受3个周期的紫杉醇和卡铂新辅助化疗,根据疗效将患者分为有效组和无效组。化疗前检测血清OPN、TK1、FGFR4水平,比较两组上述指标差异。收集相关资料,以多因素Logistic回归分析LACC患者新辅助化疗疗效的影响因素。采用受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线分析OPN、TK1、FGFR4对新辅助化疗疗效的预测价值。结果：160例患者均顺利完成新辅助化疗,治疗有效129例（有效组）,无效31例（无效组）。无效组血清OPN、TK1、FGFR4水平均高于有效组（P＜0.05）。多因素Logistic回归分析结果显示,FIGO分期为Ⅲ期、IVA期以及血清OPN、TK1、FGFR4水平较高是影响LACC患者新辅助化疗疗效的危险因素（P＜0.05）。血清OPN、TK1、FGFR4预测LACC患者新辅助化疗疗效的ROC曲线下面积分别为0.831、0.695、0.767,三项联合预测的曲线下面积为0.893,高于各指标单独检测。结论：LACC患者新辅助化疗疗效受到FIGO分期和血清OPN、TK1、FGFR4水平影响,联合检测血清OPN、TK1、FGFR4水平对LACC患者新辅助化疗疗效具有一定的预测价值。     

血清P53和Wip1水平与小细胞肺癌患者化疗疗效及预后的关系研究

摘要 目的：探讨血清P53和野生型p53诱导的磷酸酶1（Wip1）水平与小细胞肺癌（SCLC）患者化疗疗效及预后的关系。方法：选择2015年6月至2017年6月青岛大学附属青岛市中心医院收治的109例SCLC患者为SCLC组和95例健康体检志愿者为对照组。所有SCLC患者均接受EP方案（依托泊苷+顺铂）化疗至少2个周期,化疗前检测血清P53和Wip1水平,出院后对所有患者进行为期5年的随访。统计随访期间SCLC患者总生存（OS）情况。分析血清Wip1和P53水平与SCLC患者临床病理特征、化疗疗效以及预后的关系。结果：SCLC组血清P53水平低于对照组（P＜0.05）,血清Wip1表达高于对照组（P＜0.05）。临床分期为广泛期、远处转移患者血清P53水平低于临床分期为局限期、无远处转移患者（P＜0.05）,血清Wip1表达高于临床分期为局限期、无远处转移患者（P＜0.05）。无效组血清P53水平低于有效组（P＜0.05）,血清Wip1表达高于有效组（P＜0.05）。低水平P53组、高表达Wip1组5年OS生存率低于高水平P53组和低表达Wip1组（P＜0.05）。多因素Cox回归分析显示化疗耐药、远处转移、高表达Wip1是SCLC患者预后不良的危险因素（P＜0.05）,高水平P53是其保护因素（P＜0.05）。结论：SCLC患者血清P53水平降低,Wip1表达增高与化疗效果较差和不良预后有关,检测血清P53表达和Wip1水平有助于辅助评估SCLC化疗疗效和预后。     

术前CA125、OPN、CXCL8、NLR联合检测对乳腺癌改良根治术患者术后复发转移风险的评估价值

摘要 目的：探讨术前糖类抗原125（CA125）、骨桥蛋白（OPN）、趋化因子配体8（CXCL8）、中性粒细胞与淋巴细胞比值（NLR）联合检测对乳腺癌改良根治术患者术后复发转移风险的评估价值。方法：选取2015年4月-2016年4月期间我院收治的乳腺癌改良根治术患者384例按照术后有无复发转移分为未复发转移组（n=345）和复发转移组（n=39）,对比复发转移组、未复发转移组CA125、OPN、CXCL8、NLR,乳腺癌改良根治术患者术后复发转移的影响因素采用多因素Logistic回归分析。采用受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线来判断CA125、OPN、CXCL8、NLR检测对乳腺癌改良根治术患者术后复发转移风险的评估价值。结果：复发转移组的CA125、OPN、CXCL8、NLR高于未复发转移组,组间对比差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。乳腺癌改良根治术患者术后复发转移与肿瘤最大直径、临床分期、术前新辅助化疗、人表皮生长因子受体2（HER2）、淋巴结转移、组织学类型、细胞增殖标志抗原（ki-67）、雌激素受体（ER）/孕激素受体（PR）、P53、术后放疗、术后内分泌治疗有关（P<0.05）。多因素Logistic回归分析结果显示：OPN偏高、CXCL8偏高、NLR偏高、肿瘤最大直径≥2 cm、淋巴结转移阳性、ER/PR双阴性、临床分期为III期、术前未接受新辅助化疗是乳腺癌改良根治术患者术后复发转移的危险因素（P<0.05）。术前CA125、OPN、CXCL8、NLR联合检测评估复发转移的曲线下面积（AUC）为0.855均高于各指标单独检测。结论：乳腺癌改良根治术后复发转移与OPN、CXCL8、NLR、肿瘤最大直径、淋巴结转移、ER/PR、临床分期、术前接受新辅助化疗均存在一定联系,临床需据此采取针对性干预措施加以防范。且术前CA125、OPN、CXCL8、NLR联合检测辅助评估术后复发转移的价值较高。     

Correlation analysis of lymphocyte-monocyte ratio with pathological complete response and clinical prognosis of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer

PurposeInflammation plays an important role in tumor proliferation, metastasis, and chemotherapy resistance. Peripheral blood lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR) has been reported to be closely associated with the prognosis of many tumors, such as certain hematologic malignancies and gastric cancer. However, the association in breast cancer is still not clear. This study investigated the relationship between LMR with pathological complete response and clinical prognosis of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer, to provide convenient and accurate predictive indicators for pathological complete response (pCR) and prognosis.MethodsThe clinicopathological data of 192 female breast cancer patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery in Harbin Medical University Tumor Hospital from January 2013 to August 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. Blood lymphocytes and monocytes were obtained by peripheral venous punctures.ResultsCompared with the low LMR group, pCR was more easily obtained in the high LMR group (P=0.020); Subgroup analysis showed that patients with the high LMR and HER-2(+) group were more likely to obtain pCR (P=0.011).Univariate andmultivariate results showed that the overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) of the high LMR group were longer than that of the low LMR group.ConclusionLMR and HER-2 status are correlated with pCR of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients and are independent predictors of pCR after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients. Meanwhile, both LMR and T stage of tumor are independent prognostic factors of breast cancer patients, with good predictive value.     

Pre-treatment systemic immune-inflammation index is a useful prognostic indicator in patients with breast cancer undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy

The systemic immune-inflammation index (SII = N × P/L) based on neutrophil (N), platelet (P) and lymphocyte (L) counts is used to predict the survival of patients with malignant tumours and can fully reflect the balance between host inflammatory and immune status. This study is conducted to explore the potential prognostic significance of SII in patients with breast cancer undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). A total of 262 patients with breast cancer received NACT were enrolled in this study. According to the receiver operating characteristic curve, the optimal cut-off value of SII was divided into two groups: low SII group (<602 × 10⁹/L) and high SII group (≥602 × 10⁹/L). The associations between breast cancer and clinicopathological variables by SII were determined by chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test. The Kaplan-Meier plots and log-rank test were used to determine clinical outcomes of disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). The prognostic value of SII was analysed by univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models. The toxicity of NACT was accessed by National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria (NCICTC). According to univariate and multivariate Cox regression survival analyses, the results showed that the value of SII had prognostic significance for DFS and OS. The patients with low SII value had longer DFS and OS than those with high SII value (31.11 vs 40.76 months, HR: 1.075, 95% CI: 0.718-1.610, P = .006; 44.47 vs 53.68 months, HR: 1.051, 95% CI: 0.707-1.564, P = .005, respectively). The incidence of DFS and OS in breast cancer patients with low SII value was higher than that in those patients with high SII value in 3-, 5- and 10-year rates. The common toxicities after NACT were haematological and gastrointestinal reaction, and there were no differences by SII for the assessment of side effects of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Meanwhile, the results also proved that breast cancer patients with low SII value and high Miller and Payne grade (MPG) survived longer than those breast cancer with high SII value and low MPG grade. In patients without lymph vessel invasion, these breast cancer patients with low SII value had better prognosis and lower recurrence rates than those with high SII value. Pre-treatment SII with the advantage of reproducible, convenient and non-invasive was a useful prognostic indicator for breast cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy and is a promising biomarker for breast cancer on treatment strategy decisions.     

Prognostic value of the post-operative red blood cell distribution width in patients with rectal cancer with neoadjuvant chemoradiation followed by surgery

Purposes: Several studies have reported that elevated red cell distribution width (RDW) is related to poor prognosis in several cancers; however, the prognostic significance of perioperative RDW in patients with rectal cancer that received neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy (NACRT) is unclear.Methods: A total of 120 patients with rectal cancer who received NACRT followed surgery were retrospectively reviewed from Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University between 2013 and 2015. Data for peripheral blood tests prior to the initiation of NACRT, before surgery and first chemotherapy after surgery were collected, respectively. The optimal cutoff values of RDW were determined by ROC analysis, respectively. The relationship between RDW and the prognosis of patients was evaluated by the Kaplan Meier method, respectively.Results: The post-operative RDW^High patients had significantly worse 5-year overall survival (OS, P=0.001) and disease-free survival (DFS, P<0.001) than the post-operative RDW^Low patients, respectively. Whereas high pre-operative RDW was the only marker correlated with worse DFS (P=0.005) than the pre-operative RDW^Low patients, no relationship was found between pre-RDW and prognosis (OS, P=0.069; DFS, P=0.133). Multivariate analysis showed post-operative RDW had better predictive value than pre-RDW and pre-operative RDW.Conclusion: Post-operative RDW might be a useful prognostic indicator in patients with rectal cancer received neoadjuvant chemoradiation.     

Prognostic factors for early relapse in non-metastatic triple negative breast cancer — real world data

BackgroundTriple negative breast cancer (TNBC) has the worst prognosis amongst all subtypes. Studies have shown that the achievement of pathologic complete response in the breast and axilla correlates with improved survival. The aim of this study was to identify clinical or pathological features of real-life TNBC patients with a higher risk of early relapse.Materials and methodsSingle-centre retrospective analysis of 127 women with TNBC, stage II–III, submitted to neoadjuvant treatment and surgery between January 2016 and 2020. Multivariate Cox regression analysis for disease free survival (DFS) at 2 years was performed and statistically significant variables were computed into a prognostic model for early relapse.ResultsAfter 29 months of median follow-up, 105 patients (82.7%) were alive and, in total, 38 patients (29.9%) experienced recurrence. The 2-year DFS was 73% (95% CI: 21.3–22.7). In multivariate analysis, being submitted to neoadjuvant radiotherapy [HR 2.8 (95% CI: 1.2–6.4), p = 0.017] and not achieving pathologic complete response [HR 0.3 (95% CI: 0.1–1.7), p = 0.011] were associated with higher risk of recurrence. In our prognostic model, the presence of at least one of these variables defined a subgroup of patients with a worse 2-year DFS than those without these features (59% vs. 90%, p < 0.001, respectively).ConclusionsIn this real-life non-metastatic TNBC cohort, neoadjuvant radiotherapy (performed due to insufficient clinical response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy or significant toxicity) impacted as an independent prognostic factor for relapse along with the absence of pathologic complete response identifying a subgroup of higher risk patients for early relapse that might merit a closer follow-up.     

Beyond Axillary Lymph Node Metastasis,BMI and Menopausal Status Are Prognostic Determinants for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Treated by Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

BackgroundTriple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) are a specific subtype of breast cancers with a particularly poor prognosis. However, it is a very heterogeneous subgroup in terms of clinical behavior and sensitivity to systemic treatments. Thus, the identification of risk factors specifically associated with those tumors still represents a major challenge. A therapeutic strategy increasingly used for TNBC patients is neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Only a subset of patients achieves a pathologic complete response (pCR) after NAC and have a better outcome than patients with residual disease.PurposeThe aim of this study is to identify clinical factors associated with the metastatic-free survival in TNBC patients who received NAC.MethodsWe analyzed 326 cT1-3N1-3M0 patients with ductal infiltrating TNBC treated by NAC. The survival analysis was performed using a Cox proportional hazard model to determine clinical features associated with prognosis on the whole TNBC dataset. In addition, we built a recursive partitioning tree in order to identify additional clinical features associated with prognosis in specific subgroups of TNBC patients.ResultsWe identified the lymph node involvement after NAC as the only clinical feature significantly associated with a poor prognosis using a Cox multivariate model (HR = 3.89 [2.42–6.25], p<0.0001). Using our recursive partitioning tree, we were able to distinguish 5 subgroups of TNBC patients with different prognosis. For patients without lymph node involvement after NAC, obesity was significantly associated with a poor prognosis (HR = 2.64 [1.28–5.55]). As for patients with lymph node involvement after NAC, the pre-menopausal status in grade III tumors was associated with poor prognosis (HR = 9.68 [5.71–18.31]).ConclusionThis study demonstrates that axillary lymph node status after NAC is the major prognostic factor for triple-negative breast cancers. Moreover, we identified body mass index and menopausal status as two other promising prognostic factors in this breast cancer subgroup. Using these clinical factors, we were able to classify TNBC patients in 5 subgroups, for which pre-menopausal patients with grade III tumors and lymph node involvement after NAC have the worse prognosis.     

Clinicopathological Features and Prognosis of Metaplastic Breast Carcinoma: Experience of a Major Chinese Cancer Center

Metaplastic breast carcinoma (MBC) is a rare heterogeneous group of primary breast malignancies, with low hormone receptor expression and poor outcomes. To date, no prognostic markers for this tumor have been validated. The current study was undertaken to evaluate the clinicopathologic characteristics, the response to various therapeutic regimens and the prognosis of MBCs in a large cohort of patients from Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital in China. Ninety cases of MBCs diagnosed in our hospital between January 2000 and September 2014 were retrieved from the archives. In general, MBCs presented with larger size, a lower rate of lymph node metastasis, and demonstrated more frequent local recurrence/distant metastasis than 1,090 stage-matched cases of invasive carcinoma of no specific type (IDC-NST), independent of the status of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 expressions. The five-year disease-free survival (DFS) of MBC was significantly worse than IDC-NST. Using univariate analysis, lymph node metastasis, advanced clinical stage at diagnosis, high tumor proliferation rate assessed by Ki-67 labeling, and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) overexpression/gene amplification were associated significantly with reduced DFS, while decreased OS was associated significantly with lymph node metastasis and EGFR overexpression/gene amplification. With multivariate analysis, lymph node status was an independent predictor for DFS, and lymph node status and EGFR overexpression/gene amplification were independent predictors for OS. Histologic subtyping and molecular subgrouping of MBCs were not significant factors in prognosis. We also found that MBCs were insensitive to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, routine chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. This study indicates that MBC is an aggressive type of breast cancer with poor prognosis, and that identification and optimization of an effective comprehensive therapeutic regimen is needed.     

Clinical significance of risk stratification of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after neoadjuvant chemoradiation and surgery

ObjectiveNowadays, there were few studies reporting the risk stratification of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) after neoadjuvant chemoradiation (NCRT) and surgery. We aimed to establish a simple risk stratification to help postoperative detection and adjuvant treatment.MethodsWe included 146 patients with locally advanced ESCC who received NCRT followed by esophagectomy. The impacts of clinicopathological factors on overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were analyzed. The recurrence site, time, and frequency were recorded as well.ResultsThe median follow-up was 53 months. The pathological complete respond (pCR) group demonstrated better 5-year OS and DFS (78.6% and 77.0%) than the non-pCR group (44.8% and 35.2%, all P < 0.005). Multivariate analysis for the non-pCR group revealed perineural invasion (PNI) (HR:2.296, P = 0.013) and ypTNM stage (I/II vs III/IV) (HR:1.972, P = 0.046) were considered as independent unfavorable factors affecting OS, while PNI (HR:1.866, P = 0.045) and lymph vessel invasion (LVI) (HR:3.370, P < 0.001) were considered as independent adverse factors for DFS. Based on clinicopathological factors (including pCR, ypTNM stage, PNI, LVI), patients were divided into the low-risk (pCR), mediate-risk (non-pCR without PNI, LVI, stage III/IV), high-risk (non-pCR with one factor of PNI, LVI or stage III/IV (n = 45)), highest risk (non-pCR with two or more factors of PNI, LVI or stage III/IV) groups. The corresponding 5-year OS rates were 78.6%, 60.4%, 49.6%, 18.6%, respectively (P < 0.005) and 5-year DFS rates were 77.0%, 46.9%, 41.1%, 12.1%, respectively (P < 0.005). Adjuvant chemotherapy may improve survival in high or highest risk groups of patients with low prognostic nutritional index (< 49).ConclusionsA novel risk stratification based on clinicopathological factors may be conducive to postoperative surveillance and guide adjuvant chemotherapy.     

Adjusting Breast Cancer Patient Prognosis with Non-HER2-Gene Patterns on Chromosome 17

Background

HER2 and TOP2A gene status are assessed for diagnostic and research purposes in breast cancer with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). However, FISH probes do not target only the annotated gene, while chromosome 17 (chr17) is among the most unstable chromosomes in breast cancer. Here we asked whether the status of specifically targeted genes on chr17 might help in refining prognosis of early high-risk breast cancer patients.

Methods

Copy numbers (CN) for 14 genes on chr17, 4 of which were within and 10 outside the core HER2 amplicon (HER2- and non-HER2-genes, respectively) were assessed with qPCR in 485 paraffin-embedded tumor tissue samples from breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy in the frame of two randomized phase III trials.

Principal Findings

HER2-genes CN strongly correlated to each other (Spearman’s rho >0.6) and were concordant with FISH HER2 status (Kappa 0.6697 for ERBB2 CN). TOP2A CN were not concordant with TOP2A FISH status (Kappa 0.1154). CN hierarchical clustering revealed distinct patterns of gains, losses and complex alterations in HER2- and non-HER2-genes associated with IHC4 breast cancer subtypes. Upon multivariate analysis, non-HER2-gene gains independently predicted for shorter disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with triple-negative cancer, as compared to luminal and HER2-positive tumors (interaction p = 0.007 for DFS and p = 0.011 for OS). Similarly, non-HER2-gene gains were associated with worse prognosis in patients who had undergone breast-conserving surgery as compared to modified radical mastectomy (p = 0.004 for both DFS and OS). Non-HER2-gene losses were unfavorable prognosticators in patients with 1–3 metastatic nodes, as compared to those with 4 or more nodes (p = 0.017 for DFS and p = 0.001 for OS).

Conclusions

TOP2A FISH and qPCR may not identify the same pathology on chr17q. Non-HER2 chr17 CN patterns may further predict outcome in breast cancer patients with known favorable and unfavorable prognosis.