The Numbers of FoxP3+ Lymphocytes in Sentinel Lymph Nodes of Breast Cancer Patients Correlate With Primary Tumor Size but Not Nodal Status

Abstract

Regulatory T cells, lymphocytes marked by expression of the transcription factor Forkhead Box Protein P3 (FoxP3), inhibit the activation of tumor-specific T cells in tumor-draining lymph nodes. Immunohistochemical analyses of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) from 104 breast cancer patients showed a significant association (p = .0028, Pearson correlation) between the number of FoxP3+ cells and the size of primary breast invasive ductal carcinoma. In contrast, there was no correlation between the number of FoxP3+ cells and the presence of SLN metastases, or other clinicopathological parameters. These results suggest the presence of an immune suppressive environment in SLNs of larger tumors.

Keywords: :

• Breast cancer
• Immunology/Immunobiology
• Tumor immunology

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Ryan Pennell and the personnel of the NYU Cancer Institute's Shared Resources Experimental Pathology and Clinical Laboratory Cores for expert assistance.