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Y. Zhang



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    ORAL 36 - Translational Science/Radiation (ID 151)

    • Event: WCLC 2015
    • Type: Oral Session
    • Track: Treatment of Locoregional Disease – NSCLC
    • Presentations: 1
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      ORAL36.01 - Prognostic Value of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes for Patients with Completely Resected Stage IIIA(N2) Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (ID 1061)

      16:45 - 16:56  |  Author(s): Y. Zhang

      • Abstract
      • Slides

      Background:
      Patient prognosis after complete resection for pathologic stage IIIA(N2) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains a significant concern. Accumulating evidence suggests that the host immune response might determine tumor behavior and influence the survival prognosis; however, the clinical relevance of the host immune response to NSCLC has yet to be established. We aimed to investigate the prognostic value of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in a uniform cohort of patients with completely resected stage IIIA(N2) NSCLC.

      Methods:
      From January 2005 to June 2012, all consecutive patients with pathologic stage IIIA(N2) NSCLC who underwent complete resection in our hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Inclusion criteria for this study were as follows: complete resection through a surgical procedure of either lobectomy or pneumonectomy with microscopically tumor-free resection margins; systematic nodal dissection with a minimum of three N2 stations dissected; and histologically proven NSCLC of stage pT1-3N2M0 (according to the 7th UICC TNM classification). Patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy were excluded. Full-face hematoxylin- and eosin-stained sections from surgical specimens from each case were evaluated for the density of TILs by two qualified specialized pathologists. A published recommended TILs scoring scale was followed. The degree of lymphocyte infiltration into the tumor was scored as none (score 0), low (score 1), moderate (score 2), or high (score 3). Patients were stratified into TIL-negative (none to low infiltration) or TIL-positive (moderate to high infiltration) group based on pathologic evaluation.

      Results:
      Of the eligible 320 patients included in the analysis, 135 (42%) patients were categorized as TIL-positive; and the 185 (58%) patients were defined as TIL-negative. The median follow-up duration was 30.8 months (range, 12-101.4 months) for the living patients. In the entire cohort, the median survival time (MST) was 42.5 months, and the 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 90.9%, 54.3%, and 35%, respectively. For the patients in the TIL-negative and TIL-positive groups, the MST was 35.7 and 45.5 months, respectively. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS rates were 88.6%, 49.5%, and 34%, respectively, in the TIL-negative group and 94.1%, 61.2%, and 35.6%, respectively, in the TIL-positive group. A higher density of TILs (TIL-positive) was associated with improved OS and the differences trended toward significance (P=0.06). Multivariate analyses confirmed that TIL-positive was an independent prognostic factor for improved OS (HR=0.70, 95%CI 0.50-0.99, P=0.05). Subgroup analyses indicated that this positive effect was the greatest for patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC; HR=0.44, 95%CI 0.21-0.94, P=0.03). Of the 93 patients with SCC, TIL-positive was significantly associated with improved distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS; P=0.02) and OS (P=0.03). The TIL-positive was a strong prognostic factor in the multivariate model, both for prolonged DMFS (HR=0.39, 95%CI 0.17-0.87, P=0.02) and OS (HR=0.47, 95%CI 0.22-1.00, P=0.05).

      Conclusion:
      Our data suggested a potential role of TILs in predicting the survival prognosis of patients with completely resected stage IIIA(N2) NSCLC. The beneficial effects of TILs were more pronounced for the prediction of DMFS and OS in patients with SCC. Studies assessing outcomes and therapeutic efficacies in prospective clinical trials should consider stratification for this immunological parameter.

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