Nielsen, Torsten O.

Importance The association of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) abundance in breast cancer tissue with cancer recurrence and death in patients with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who are not treated with adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy is unclear. Objective To study the association of TIL abundance in breast cancer tissue with survival among patients with early-stage TNBC who were treated with locoregional therapy but no chemotherapy. Design, Setting, and Participants Retrospective pooled analysis of individual patient-level data from 13 participating centers in North America (Rochester, Minnesota; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), Europe (Paris, Lyon, and Villejuif, France; Amsterdam and Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Milan, Padova, and Genova, Italy; Gothenburg, Sweden), and Asia (Tokyo, Japan; Seoul, Korea), including 1966 participants diagnosed with TNBC between 1979 and 2017 (with follow-up until September 27, 2021) who received treatment with surgery with or without radiotherapy but no adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Exposure TIL abundance in breast tissue from resected primary tumors. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was invasive disease-free survival [iDFS]. Secondary outcomes were recurrence-free survival [RFS], survival free of distant recurrence [distant RFS, DRFS], and overall survival. Associations were assessed using a multivariable Cox model stratified by participating center. Results This study included 1966 patients with TNBC (median age, 56 years [IQR, 39-71]; 55% had stage I TNBC). The median TIL level was 15% (IQR, 5%-40%). Four-hundred seventeen (21%) had a TIL level of 50% or more (median age, 41 years [IQR, 36-63]), and 1300 (66%) had a TIL level of less than 30% (median age, 59 years [IQR, 41-72]). Five-year DRFS for stage I TNBC was 94% (95% CI, 91%-96%) for patients with a TIL level of 50% or more, compared with 78% (95% CI, 75%-80%) for those with a TIL level of less than 30%; 5-year overall survival was 95% (95% CI, 92%-97%) for patients with a TIL level of 50% or more, compared with 82% (95% CI, 79%-84%) for those with a TIL level of less than 30%. At a median follow-up of 18 years, and after adjusting for age, tumor size, nodal status, histological grade, and receipt of radiotherapy, each 10% higher TIL increment was associated independently with improved iDFS (hazard ratio [HR], 0.92 [0.89-0.94]), RFS (HR, 0.90 [0.87-0.92]), DRFS (HR, 0.87 [0.84-0.90]), and overall survival (0.88 [0.85-0.91]) (likelihood ratio test, P < 10e-6). Conclusions and Relevance In patients with early-stage TNBC who did not undergo adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy, breast cancer tissue with a higher abundance of TIL levels was associated with significantly better survival. These results suggest that breast tissue TIL abundance is a prognostic factor for patients with early-stage TNBC.

Abstract Background: Growing data established the pivotal role of preexisting immune response in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Conventionally, preexisting immune response can be evaluated by quantifying tumor infiltrating lymphocytes mainly in the stroma or gene expression analysis from the whole tumor section. Due to technical challenges with these conventional methods, limited data regarding specific subtypes and spatial distribution of these immune infiltrates are currently available. Methods: NanoString IO360 gene expression analysis and Digital Spatial Profiling (DSP) were used. DSP was used to quantify 29 immune-related proteins in stromal and tumor-enriched segments from 44 TNBC samples from the FinXX trial (NCT00114816) and 335 samples from the Mayo Clinic (MC) cohort of centrally reviewed TNBC (Leon-Ferre BCRT 2018). In FinXX trial, 22 patients with recurrence and 22 patients without recurrence were included. In MC cohort, 217/335 patients received adjuvant chemotherapy while 118 patients had surgery only without adjuvant chemotherapy. Regions were segmented based on pancytokeratin staining. The general linear model was used for statistical analysis of differential expression with recurrence free survival (RFS) as a categorical variable (recur yes or no). Kaplan-Meier (KM) estimates and Cox regression models were also used for analysis. Results: In the FinXX trial, there were 12 out of 29 proteins in tumor epithelial segments (intraepithelial) which were significantly expressed at higher levels among patients who were free of recurrence. These proteins include Beta-2 microglobulin, CD11c, CD20, CD40, CD56, CD8, Granzyme B, HLA-DR, ICOS, PD-L1, PD-L2, and TGFB1. In contrast, merely 5 out of 29 proteins in stromal segments were significantly differentially expressed in these 2 groups of patients. Granzyme B, IDO1, PD-L1, and PD-L2 in stroma were significantly higher and SMA was significantly lower in patients without recurrence. Using Cox regression models, intraepithelial CD56, CD40, and HLA-DR were significantly associated with outcome. When comparing between highest and lowest intraepithelial protein expression by tertile, intraepithelial CD56 (HR 0.12, 95%CI 0.03-0.39, p < 0.001), CD40 (HR 0.13, 95%CI 0.04-0.46, p = 0.002), and HLA-DR (HR 0.24, 95%CI 0.06-0.89, p = 0.032) were significantly associated with improved outcome. However, expression of these same proteins in stroma was not associated with outcome. Using KM estimates, intraepithelial CD56 (p < 0.0001), CD40 (p = 0.0006), and HLA-DR (p = 0.013) were also significantly associated with improved outcome. Nonetheless, RNA expression of these proteins by IO360 from whole tumor sections were not significantly associated with outcome (CD56 p = 0.27, CD40 p = 0.21, HLA-DR p = 0.48). Similar findings with DSP were observed in MC TNBC cohort. Comparing between the highest and lowest quartiles, there were significantly fewer patients who developed recurrence with high protein expression of intraepithelial CD56 (p < 0.001), CD40 (p = 0.002), and HLA-DR (p = 0.006). Conclusions: Using an in-depth analysis with spatially defined context, we identify that there were numerically more intraepithelial immune-related proteins associated with outcome compared to proteins in stroma. Specifically, intraepithelial CD56, CD40, and HLA-DR were significantly associated with improved outcome in both FinXX and MC TNBC cohorts. However, neither expression of these proteins in stroma nor RNA expression from whole tumor were associated with outcome. Our study highlights the impact of spatial biology and the importance of evaluating each potential biomarker in a spatially defined manner. Support: W81XWH-15-1-0292, BCRF 19-161, P50CA116201-9, P50CA015083 Citation Format: Saranya Chumsri, Jodi M. Carter, Yaohua Ma, Douglas Hinerfeld, Heather Ann Brauer, Sarah Warren, Torsten O. Nielsen, Karama Asleh, Heikki Joensuu, Edith A. Perez, Roberto A. Leon-Ferre, David W. Hillman, Judy C. Boughey, Minetta C. Liu, James N. Ingle, Krishna R. Kalari, Fergus J. Couch, Keith L. Knutson, Matthew P. Goetz, E. A. Thompson. Spatially defined immune-related proteins and outcome in triple negative breast cancer in the FinXX trial and Mayo Clinic cohort [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS6-02.

510 Background: Several studies have established the critical role of preexisting immune response in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Most studies evaluated the tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in stroma. However, limited data are available with regards to the importance of specific subtypes and spatial distribution of these immune infiltrates. Methods: NanoString IO360 gene expression analysis and Digital Spatial Profiling (DSP) were used. DSP was used to quantify 39 immune-related proteins in stromal and tumor-enriched segments from 44 TNBC samples from the FinXX trial (NCT00114816) and 335 samples from the Mayo Clinic (MC) cohort of centrally reviewed TNBC (Leon-Ferre BCRT 2018). In FinXX trial, 22 patients with recurrence and 22 patients without recurrence were included. In MC cohort, 217/335 patients received adjuvant chemotherapy while 118 patients had surgery only without adjuvant chemotherapy. Regions were segmented based on pancytokeratin staining. The general linear model was used for statistical analysis of differential expression with recurrence free survival (RFS) as a categorical variable (recur yes or no). Kaplan-Meier estimates and Cox regression models were also used for analysis. Results: In the FinXX trial, using global gene expression analysis with IO360, there was no signature significantly associated with RFS. However, using DSP, high protein expression of CD56 in the tumor-enriched segments was associated with significant improvement in RFS (HR 0.26, 95%CI 0.09-0.78, p 0.01). Nevertheless, CD56 expression in the stroma (HR 0.66, 95%CI 0.29-1.53, p 0.33) and all segments (HR 0.53, 95%CI 0.23-1.25, p 0.14) was not significantly associated with improved outcome. We further validated these findings in the MC TNBC cohort where intratumoral CD56 expression was associated with a significant improvement in RFS (HR 0.23, p 0.002) but not stromal CD56 (p 0.79). Interestingly, when evaluating the MC TNBC cohort according to receipt of chemotherapy, intratumoral CD56 was associated with improved outcome only in patients who received chemotherapy (p 0.02 vs. 0.07). In both cohorts, higher expressions of intratumoral PD-L1, HLA-DR, and CD8 were associated with improved outcome. Conclusions: Using an in-depth analysis with spatially defined context, we identify that intratumoral CD56-positive NK cells are associated with improved outcome in TNBC. Our study highlights the potential role of NK cells in TNBC and future implications for biomarkers and therapeutic targets.Support: W81XWH-15-1-0292, P50CA116201-9, P50CA015083. Clinical trial information: NCT00114816 .

Abstract Background: Growing evidence supports the critical role of preexisting immune response in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, there are limitations with current evaluation approaches: inability to functionally assess the type of immune infiltration with traditional pathologic evaluation and loss of spatial distribution in conventional high-plex gene or protein expression analyses from the whole tumor section. Here, we report the initial analysis of immune protein expression as a function of spatial distribution and clinical outcomes in TNBC samples. Methods: NanoString GeoMxTM Digital Spatial Profiling (DSP) was used to quantify 39 immune-related proteins in stromal and tumor segments from 44 TNBC samples from the FinXX trial. Samples were matched for patient characteristics, treatment arm (capecitabine vs. 5-fluorouracil), and outcome based on recurrence-free survival (RFS) with 22 samples from patients who recurred and 22 samples from patients with durable RFS. Regions of interest (ROIs) were selected based on expression of cytokeratin (tumor), CD45 (leukocytes), or CD68 (macrophages). Each ROI was segmented into tumor (pancytokeratin-positive area) and stroma (pancytokeratin-negative/nuclear SYTO13-positive area). The general linear model was used for statistical analysis of differential expression with RFS as a categorical variable (recur yes or no). Results: A total of 950 tumor and stroma segments were included in this initial analysis. In both tumor and stroma segments, over-expression of T cell activation markers (CD137, GITR) was associated with better outcome, whereas T cell markers (CD3, CD4, CD8) were not significantly associated with outcome. In tumor segments alone, improved outcome was significantly associated with increased protein expression [> 2-fold change (FC) at p<0.001] of CD56, PD-L2, HLA-DR, CD137, GITR, and CD40. In CD45-enriched stroma, improved outcome was associated with elevated expression (FC>2.0, p<0.001) of PD-L2; whereas durable RFS was associated with elevated PD-L2 and IDO1 expression in CD68-enriched stroma. In contrast, macrophage/dendritic cell markers CD68 and CD11c were not associated with outcome. In tumor cells adjacent to CD45-enriched stroma, durable RFS was associated with increased abundance (FC>2.0, p<0.001) of PD-L2, CD56, CD27, GITR, CD20, HLA-DR, and IDO1. Similarly, in tumor segment associated with CD68-enriched stroma, proteins associated with RFS included PD-L2, HLA-DR, CD56, GITR, and CD137. Among 39 immune function proteins, only elevated CTLA4 expression in CD68-enriched stroma was associated with recurrence (FC=0.55, p<0.001), whereas tumor-segment CTLA4 was associated with RFS. Conclusions: Using an in-depth analysis to precisely quantify the abundance of multiple immune function proteins in a spatially defined manner, we observed that PD-L2, IDO1, and T cell activation markers were robustly associated with durable RFS in both tumor and stromal segments. In contrast, MHC components (HLA-DR, beta-2-microglobulin), B cell markers (CD20), and NK cell markers (CD56) were strongly associated with favorable outcome in tumor but not in stromal segments. Our study highlights the conclusion that the immune landscape of TNBC is far too complex to be encompassed by any single molecular marker, and more detailed analyses of the DSP data reported here are ongoing with a view towards using quantitative multiplex analyses to refine our understanding of how therapeutic outcome is influenced by interactions among immune cells and between immune and tumor cells. Acknowledgements: Supported by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF18-161), Bankhead Coley (6BC05 Florida Department of Health), 26.2 with Donna Foundation, US National Cancer Institute (CA15083), and the Canadian Cancer Center Citation Format: Saranya Chumsri, Douglas Hinerfeld, Jennifer M. Kachergus, Yaohua Ma, Heather A Brauer, Sarah Warren, Xue Wang, Torsten O. Nielsen, Karama Asleh, Heikki Joensuu, Edith A. Perez, E. A. Thompson. Digital spatial mapping of the immune landscape of triple negative breast cancer reveals novel features of immune-tumor cell interaction [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2019 Dec 10-14; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PD5-06.

AbstractImmune checkpoint inhibitor therapies targeting PD‐1/PD‐L1 are now the standard of care in oncology across several hematologic and solid tumor types, including triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Patients with metastatic or locally advanced TNBC with PD‐L1 expression on immune cells occupying ≥1% of tumor area demonstrated survival benefit with the addition of atezolizumab to nab‐paclitaxel. However, concerns regarding variability between immunohistochemical PD‐L1 assay performance and inter‐reader reproducibility have been raised. High tumor‐infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have also been associated with response to PD‐1/PD‐L1 inhibitors in patients with breast cancer (BC). TILs can be easily assessed on hematoxylin and eosin–stained slides and have shown reliable inter‐reader reproducibility. As an established prognostic factor in early stage TNBC, TILs are soon anticipated to be reported in daily practice in many pathology laboratories worldwide. Because TILs and PD‐L1 are parts of an immunological spectrum in BC, we propose the systematic implementation of combined PD‐L1 and TIL analyses as a more comprehensive immuno‐oncological biomarker for patient selection for PD‐1/PD‐L1 inhibition‐based therapy in patients with BC. Although practical and regulatory considerations differ by jurisdiction, the pathology community has the responsibility to patients to implement assays that lead to optimal patient selection. We propose herewith a risk‐management framework that may help mitigate the risks of suboptimal patient selection for immuno‐therapeutic approaches in clinical trials and daily practice based on combined TILs/PD‐L1 assessment in BC. © 2020 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract Purpose: Recent studies have demonstrated a benefit of adjuvant capecitabine in early breast cancer, particularly in patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, TNBC is heterogeneous and more precise predictive biomarkers are needed. Experimental Design: Tumor tissues collected from TNBC patients in the FinXX trial, randomized to adjuvant anthracycline–taxane–based chemotherapy with or without capecitabine, were analyzed using a 770-gene panel targeting multiple biological mechanisms and additional 30-custom genes related to capecitabine metabolism. Hypothesis-generating exploratory analyses were performed to assess biomarker expression in relation to treatment effect using the Cox regression model and interaction tests adjusted for multiplicity. Results: One hundred eleven TNBC samples were evaluable (57 without capecitabine and 54 with capecitabine). The median follow-up was 10.2 years. Multivariate analysis showed significant improvement in recurrence-free survival (RFS) favoring capecitabine in four biologically important genes and metagenes, including cytotoxic cells [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.38; 95% confidence intervals (CI), 0.16–0.86, P-interaction = 0.01], endothelial (HR = 0.67; 95% CI, 0.20–2.22, P-interaction = 0.02), mast cells (HR = 0.78; 95% CI, 0.49–1.27, P-interaction = 0.04), and PDL2 (HR = 0.31; 95% CI, 0.12–0.81, P-interaction = 0.03). Furthermore, we identified 38 single genes that were significantly associated with capecitabine benefit, and these were dominated by immune response pathway and enzymes involved in activating capecitabine to fluorouracil, including TYMP. However, these results were not significant when adjusted for multiple testing. Conclusions: Genes and metagenes related to antitumor immunity, immune response, and capecitabine activation could identify TNBC patients who are more likely to benefit from adjuvant capecitabine. Given the reduced power to observe significant findings when correcting for multiplicity, our findings provide the basis for future hypothesis-testing validation studies on larger clinical trials.

3142 Background: Recent studies have demonstrated a benefit of adjuvant capecitabine, particularly in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients with residual disease after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. However, biomarkers to predict which patients are more likely to benefit from capecitabine are needed. Methods: The nanoString Breast Cancer 360 (BC360) and PanCancer Immunoncology (IO360) panels were used to quantify mRNA expression in TNBC samples in the FinXX trial. FinXX is a phase III trial which randomized high risk patients to receive either 3 cycles of docetaxel followed by 3 cycles of cyclophosphamide, epirubicin, and fluorouracil (Arm A: T+CEF) vs. 3 cycles of docetaxel plus capecitabine followed by 3 cycles of cyclophosphamide, epirubicin, and capecitabine (Arm B: TX+CEX). Gene signature scores were analyzed using prespecified algorithms developed by nanoString. Digital Spatial Profiling was carried out using GeoMX platform. Results: A total of 111 TNBC patients in FinXX trial were included (57 in Arm A and 54 in Arm B) with 10.2 years median follow up. There were 7 cancer- and immune-related gene signatures identified by BC360 and IO360 panels that were significantly associated with improved recurrent free survival favoring an addition of capecitabine. These include cytotoxic cell signature (HR 0.37, 95%CI 0.15-0.92, p 0.03), endothelial signature (HR 0.18, 95%CI 0.04-0.83, p 0.03), mast cell signature (HR 0.43, 95%CI 0.21-0.88, p 0.02), PDL2 gene (HR 0.29, 95%CI 0.09-0.99, p 0.05), immunoproteasome (HR 0.34, 95%CI 0.13-0.89, p 0.02), exhausted CD8 (HR 0.29, 95%CI 0.09-0.97, p 0.04), and PD1 (HR 0.44, 95%CI 0.20-1.02, p 0.05). Conclusions: Analysis of RNA abundance signatures strongly suggests that there are important immune features that are associated with benefit from capecitabine in TNBC. However, analysis of RNA extracted from whole tumor sections lacks spatial discrimination. We anticipate that a more detailed, spatially-defined analysis of protein abundance, using the novel NanoString GeoMX platform, will provide more insights and define specific immune features associated with improved outcome. Additional results of GeoMX will be reported at the meeting. Clinical trial information: NCT00114816.

Assessment of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in histopathologic specimens can provide important prognostic information in diverse solid tumor types, and may also be of value in predicting response to treatments. However, implementation as a routine clinical biomarker has not yet been achieved. As successful use of immune checkpoint inhibitors and other forms of immunotherapy become a clinical reality, the need for widely applicable, accessible, and reliable immunooncology biomarkers is clear. In part 1 of this review we briefly discuss the host immune response to tumors and different approaches to TIL assessment. We propose a standardized methodology to assess TILs in solid tumors on hematoxylin and eosin sections, in both primary and metastatic settings, based on the International Immuno-Oncology Biomarker Working Group guidelines for TIL assessment in invasive breast carcinoma. A review of the literature regarding the value of TIL assessment in different solid tumor types follows in part 2. The method we propose is reproducible, affordable, easily applied, and has demonstrated prognostic and predictive significance in invasive breast carcinoma. This standardized methodology may be used as a reference against which other methods are compared, and should be evaluated for clinical validity and utility. Standardization of TIL assessment will help to improve consistency and reproducibility in this field, enrich both the quality and quantity of comparable evidence, and help to thoroughly evaluate the utility of TILs assessment in this era of immunotherapy.

Assessment of the immune response to tumors is growing in importance as the prognostic implications of this response are increasingly recognized, and as immunotherapies are evaluated and implemented in different tumor types. However, many different approaches can be used to assess and describe the immune response, which limits efforts at implementation as a routine clinical biomarker. In part 1 of this review, we have proposed a standardized methodology to assess tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in solid tumors, based on the International Immuno-Oncology Biomarkers Working Group guidelines for invasive breast carcinoma. In part 2 of this review, we discuss the available evidence for the prognostic and predictive value of TILs in common solid tumors, including carcinomas of the lung, gastrointestinal tract, genitourinary system, gynecologic system, and head and neck, as well as primary brain tumors, mesothelioma and melanoma. The particularities and different emphases in TIL assessment in different tumor types are discussed. The standardized methodology we propose can be adapted to different tumor types and may be used as a standard against which other approaches can be compared. Standardization of TIL assessment will help clinicians, researchers and pathologists to conclusively evaluate the utility of this simple biomarker in the current era of immunotherapy.