Comparison of clinicopathological variables according to the tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) level
| Variables | TILs ≤10% (n=188, 24.4%) | TILs 20–30% (n=171, 22.2%) | TILs 40–60% (n=160, 20.8%) | TILs 70–100% (n=250, 32.5%) | p Value* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years), mean±SD | 48.9±10.4 | 48.5±10.4 | 46.4±9.3 | 46.3±9.4 | 0.012 |
| Histology | <0.001 | ||||
| Invasive carcinoma of no special type | 144 (76.6) | 133 (77.8) | 134 (83.8) | 202 (80.8) | |
| Adenoid cystic carcinoma | 3 (1.6) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.6) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Carcinoma with apocrine differentiation | 10 (5.3) | 10 (5.8) | 5 (3.1) | 3 (1.2) | |
| Carcinoma with medullary features | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 20 (8.0) | |
| Invasive micropapillary carcinoma | 5 (2.7) | 3 (1.8) | 11 (6.9) | 18 (7.2) | |
| Mucinous carcinoma | 1 (0.5) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Metaplastic carcinoma | 21 (11.2) | 25 (14.6) | 9 (5.6) | 18 (7.2) | |
| Invasive lobular carcinoma | 4 (2.1) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Histological grade | <0.001 | ||||
| 1 | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.6) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| 2 | 84 (44.7) | 50 (29.2) | 35 (21.9) | 28 (11.2) | |
| 3 | 104 (55.3) | 120 (70.2) | 125 (78.1) | 222 (88.8) | |
| pT | 0.837 | ||||
| 1 | 88 (46.8) | 76 (44.4) | 62 (38.8) | 106 (42.6) | |
| 2 | 88 (46.8) | 91 (53.2) | 89 (55.6) | 139 (55.6) | |
| 3 | 12 (6.4) | 3 (1.8) | 9 (5.6) | 5 (2.0) | |
| 4 | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.6) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Lymphovascular invasion | |||||
| Negative | 142 (75.5) | 119 (69.6) | 117 (73.1) | 207 (82.8) | 0.016 |
| Positive | 46 (24.5) | 52 (30.4) | 43 (26.9) | 43 (17.2) | |
| Lymph node metastasis | 0.378 | ||||
| Negative | 134 (71.3) | 104 (60.8) | 103 (64.4) | 161 (64.4) | |
| Positive | 54 (28.7) | 67 (39.2) | 57 (35.6) | 89 (35.6) | |
| pTNM stage | 0.072 | ||||
| I | 78 (41.5) | 61 (35.7) | 49 (30.6) | 74 (29.6) | |
| II | 87 (46.3) | 83 (48.5) | 82 (51.3) | 144 (57.6) | |
| III | 23 (12.2) | 27 (15.8) | 29 (18.1) | 32 (12.8) | |
| Percentage of in situ component, mean±SD | 10.4±15.7 | 9.8±15.9 | 8.6±13.7 | 5.9±12.7 | 0.006 |
| Radiation therapy | 0.037 | ||||
| Negative | 54 (28.7) | 35 (20.5) | 28 (17.5) | 48 (19.2) | |
| Positive | 134 (71.3) | 136 (79.5) | 132 (82.5) | 202 (80.8) | |
| Adjuvant systemic therapy | 0.080 | ||||
| None | 1 (0.5) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| AC | 139 (73.9) | 106 (62.0) | 105 (65.6) | 168 (67.2) | |
| ACT | 48 (25.5) | 65 (38.0) | 55 (34.4) | 82 (32.8) | |
| Basal type | 0.670 | ||||
| Negative | 77 (41.0) | 58 (33.9) | 54 (33.8) | 93 (37.2) | |
| Positive | 111 (59.0) | 113 (66.1) | 106 (66.3) | 157 (62.8) | |
| Peritumoral lymphocytic infiltration (Klintrup criteria) | <0.001 | ||||
| Score 0 | 39 (20.7) | 4 (2.3) | 1 (0.6) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Score 1 | 122 (64.9) | 82 (48.0) | 43 (26.9) | 22 (8.8) | |
| Score 2 | 26 (13.8) | 72 (42.1) | 90 (56.3) | 136 (54.4) | |
| Score 3 | 1 (0.5) | 13 (7.6) | 26 (16.3) | 92 (36.8) | |
| Amount of tertiary lymphoid structures in adjacent tissue | <0.001 | ||||
| None | 47 (25.0) | 5 (2.9) | 3 (1.9) | 1 (0.4) | |
| Little | 68 (36.2) | 38 (22.2) | 16 (10.0) | 11 (4.4) | |
| Moderate | 60 (31.9) | 81 (47.4) | 69 (43.1) | 67 (26.8) | |
| Abundant | 13 (6.9) | 47 (27.5) | 72 (45.0) | 171 (68.4) | |
| Germinal centres in adjacent tissue | <0.001 | ||||
| Negative | 148 (78.7) | 94 (55.0) | 70 (43.8) | 68 (27.2) | |
| Positive | 40 (21.3) | 77 (45.0) | 90 (56.3) | 182 (72.8) | |
| Percentage of tumour stroma | 0.001 | ||||
| Low | 151 (80.3) | 135 (78.9) | 144 (90.0) | 225 (90.0) | |
| High | 37 (19.7) | 36 (21.1) | 16 (10.0) | 25 (10.0) | |
| Heterogeneity of tumour | <0.001 | ||||
| Heterogeneous | 61 (32.4) | 65 (38.0) | 42 (26.3) | 53 (21.2) | |
| Homogeneous | 127 (67.6) | 106 (62.0) | 118 (73.8) | 197 (78.8) | |
| Necrosis in invasive area | <0.001 | ||||
| Negative | 79 (42.0) | 50 (29.2) | 33 (20.6) | 61 (24.4) | |
| Positive | 109 (58.0) | 121 (70.8) | 127 (79.4) | 189 (75.6) | |
| Lymphoid aggregation in terminal duct lobular units of ≤5 mm from carcinoma | <0.001 | ||||
| Negative | 18 (9.6) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (1.3) | 3 (1.2) | |
| Positive | 170 (90.4) | 171 (100.0) | 158 (98.8) | 247 (98.8) | |
| Lymphoid aggregation in terminal duct lobular units of >5 mm from carcinoma | 0.047 | ||||
| Negative | 186 (98.9) | 168 (98.2) | 148 (92.5) | 240 (96.0) | |
| Positive | 2 (1.1) | 3 (1.8) | 12 (7.5) | 10 (4.0) |
Results are shown as number (%) unless stated otherwise.
*The p value that compares age refers to a Kruskal–Wallis test and that of the other variables refers to a χ2 test.
AC, anthracycline and cyclophosphamide; ACT, anthracycline, cyclophosphamide and taxane; pT, primary tumour; pTNM, pT nodes and metastasis; TILs, tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes.