Iranian Journal of Pathology

Crosstalk Between Programmed Death Ligand 1, Ki-67 Labelling Index, and Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes in Invasive Breast Cancer and Clinicopathological Correlations in a Tertiary Care Center in Western India

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

Rashim Sharma 1
Poonam Abhay Elhence 1
Meenakshi Rao 1
Sudeep Khera 1
Deepak Vedant 1
Ramkaran Chaudhary 2
Puneet Pareek 3
Jeewan Ram Vishnoi 4
Sanjeev Misra 4

1 Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India

2 Department of General Surgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India

3 Department of Radiation Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India

4 Department of Surgical Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India

https://doi.org/10.30699/ijp.2022.539946.2737
Abstract
Background & Objective: Breast cancer is the leading cancer among Indian women and accounts for about 25% of all cancer cases worldwide. The present study aimed to assess Programmed Death Ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression in tumoral cells and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and evaluate their correlations with the Ki-67 labelling index in invasive breast carcinomas (IBC).
Methods: This descriptive observational study was conducted during 2016-2018 and included all diagnosed cases of IBC. The relationships between PD-L1 expression, TILs, hormone receptors, Ki-67, and clinicopathological parameters were studied in IBC. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS version 23.
Results: Out of 114 evaluated cases, 33.33% (N=38) showed PD-L1+ expression in tumor cells and 47.37% (N=54) had PD-L1+ expression in TILs. A high Ki-67 index was observed in 96 cases. Moreover, 49 patients were estrogen receptor (ER)- and 65 were ER+. We observed that 22 of 49 ER- and 49 of 65 ER+ subjects showed PD-L1+ expression, respectively.
Conclusion: Our results showed a significant relationship between PD-L1 expression in tumoral cells and TILs, as well as between Ki-67 and TILs. In addition, an inverse correlation was noted between PD-L1 expression and ER. The PD-L1 expression in tumors and TILs and correlation with high Ki-67 may prove the importance of PD-L1 in targeted chemotherapy. An inverse relationship between PD-L1 and ER expression in tumoral cells suggests scope for immunotherapy in ER- IBC. However, further research with more cases is required.

Keywords

Breast Carcinoma
Chemotherapy
Estrogen Receptors
Ki-67
Programmed Death Ligand 1
Tumor-infiltrating Lymphocytes

Subjects

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Iranian Journal of Pathology
Volume 17, Issue 3
Summer 2022
Pages 314-322

  • Receive Date 16 October 2021
  • Revise Date 20 February 2022
  • Accept Date 30 June 2022

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