2022
Tumor immune microenvironment of self-identified African American and non-African American triple negative breast cancer
Marczyk M, Qing T, O’Meara T, Yagahoobi V, Pelekanou V, Bai Y, Reisenbichler E, Cole KS, Li X, Gunasekharan V, Ibrahim E, Fanucci K, Wei W, Rimm DL, Pusztai L, Blenman KRM. Tumor immune microenvironment of self-identified African American and non-African American triple negative breast cancer. Npj Breast Cancer 2022, 8: 88. PMID: 35869114, PMCID: PMC9307813, DOI: 10.1038/s41523-022-00449-3.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchTumor immune microenvironmentImmune microenvironmentTriple-negative breast cancer tissuesTriple-negative breast cancerAfrican AmericansImmune checkpoint inhibitorsTumor mutation burdenNegative breast cancerBreast cancer tissuesImmune-related pathwaysStromal TILsCheckpoint inhibitorsImmune exclusionClinical outcomesPD-L1Self-identified African AmericansCancer patientsImmune infiltrationBreast cancerMutation burdenCancer tissuesPredictive signatureMRNA expressionTherapeutic agentsPatients
2021
Quantitative assessment of the immune microenvironment in African American Triple Negative Breast Cancer: a case–control study
Yaghoobi V, Moutafi M, Aung TN, Pelekanou V, Yaghoubi S, Blenman K, Ibrahim E, Vathiotis IA, Shafi S, Sharma A, O’Meara T, Fernandez AI, Pusztai L, Rimm DL. Quantitative assessment of the immune microenvironment in African American Triple Negative Breast Cancer: a case–control study. Breast Cancer Research 2021, 23: 113. PMID: 34906209, PMCID: PMC8670126, DOI: 10.1186/s13058-021-01493-w.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsNegative breast cancerT cellsTumor microenvironmentAA patientsImmune cellsAA tumorsBreast cancerPurposeTriple-negative breast cancerAfrican AmericansTriple-negative breast cancerCase-control studySignificant differencesActivated T cellsImmunologic biomarkersPD-L1Lymphocytic infiltrationLymphoid infiltrationImmune microenvironmentControl cohortTNBC tumorsMyeloid markersQuantitative immunofluorescenceMean expression levelPatientsTNBCCharacterization of the tumor immune microenvironment of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients who self-identify as African American (AA) or non-African American (NonAA).
Blenman K, Marczyk M, Qing T, O'Meara T, Yaghoobi V, Pelekanou V, Bai Y, Reisenbichler E, Li X, Gunasekharan V, Ibrahim E, Rimm D, Pusztai L, Cole K. Characterization of the tumor immune microenvironment of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients who self-identify as African American (AA) or non-African American (NonAA). Journal Of Clinical Oncology 2021, 39: 564-564. DOI: 10.1200/jco.2021.39.15_suppl.564.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchTriple-negative breast cancerTumor immune microenvironmentAA patientsImmune microenvironmentWhole-exome sequencingAfrican AmericansTriple-negative breast cancer patientsYale Cancer CenterImmune checkpoint inhibitorsPD-L1 positivityPD-L1 expressionYear of diagnosisBreast cancer patientsCytokines/chemokinesImmune cell compositionTumor mutational burdenGermline whole-exome sequencingAge of diagnosisNegative breast cancerCorresponding clinical dataAllograft rejection pathwayNon-African AmericansSomatic mutationsFatty acid metabolismCheckpoint inhibitors
2020
Immunological Differences Between Immune-Rich Estrogen Receptor–Positive and Immune-Rich Triple-Negative Breast Cancers
O’Meara T, Marczyk M, Qing T, Yaghoobi V, Blenman K, Cole K, Pelekanou V, Rimm DL, Pusztai L. Immunological Differences Between Immune-Rich Estrogen Receptor–Positive and Immune-Rich Triple-Negative Breast Cancers. JCO Precision Oncology 2020, 4: po.19.00350. PMID: 32923897, PMCID: PMC7446500, DOI: 10.1200/po.19.00350.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchER-positive breast cancerTriple-negative BCM2-like macrophagesTumor-infiltrating lymphocytesBreast cancerImmune-related genesEstrogen receptor-positive breast cancerImmuno-oncology therapeutic targetsRegulatory T cell markersReceptor-positive breast cancerTriple-negative breast cancerImmune activation markersT-cell markersImmune cell markersM1-like macrophagesDifferent immunotherapy strategiesBreast Cancer International ConsortiumNegative breast cancerImmuno-oncology trialsTGF-β pathwayAntitumor immunityCancer Genome AtlasImmunotherapy strategiesActivation markersImmune microenvironment
2019
Quantitative assessment of immune cell populations and associations with clinical outcomes in African-American (AA) versus Caucasian triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).
O'Meara T, Yaghoobi V, Blenman K, Pelekanou V, Silber A, Rimm D, Pusztai L. Quantitative assessment of immune cell populations and associations with clinical outcomes in African-American (AA) versus Caucasian triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Journal Of Clinical Oncology 2019, 37: e14180-e14180. DOI: 10.1200/jco.2019.37.15_suppl.e14180.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchTriple-negative breast cancerDisease-free survivalBetter disease-free survivalPD-L1 expressionCD68 expressionAA TNBCStromal PD-L1 expressionPD-L1 protein expressionCaucasian casesHigher TIL countsTumor immune microenvironmentImmune cell populationsHigh CD68 expressionHigh CD68Similar CD8Stromal TILsClinical characteristicsDiagnosis dateTIL countPD-L1Clinical outcomesPredictive factorsCD8 expressionClinical variablesImmune microenvironmentImmune microenvironment of triple-negative breast cancer in African-American and Caucasian women
O’Meara T, Safonov A, Casadevall D, Qing T, Silber A, Killelea B, Hatzis C, Pusztai L. Immune microenvironment of triple-negative breast cancer in African-American and Caucasian women. Breast Cancer Research And Treatment 2019, 175: 247-259. PMID: 30725384, PMCID: PMC6666415, DOI: 10.1007/s10549-019-05156-5.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsTriple-negative breast cancerCaucasian breast cancersER-positive cancersBreast cancerTIL countImmune microenvironmentCaucasian patientsMolecular subtypesAA TNBCHuman epidermal growth factor receptor 2Epidermal growth factor receptor 2Pathologic complete responseGrowth factor receptor 2Immune cell distributionImmune cell populationsCancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databaseConsistent racial differencesFactor receptor 2Immune gene expressionImmune attenuationNeoadjuvant chemotherapyLymphocyte countLymphocyte infiltrationComplete responseTNBC cases
2018
Immunological differences between primary and metastatic breast cancer
Szekely B, Bossuyt V, Li X, Wali VB, Patwardhan GA, Frederick C, Silber A, Park T, Harigopal M, Pelekanou V, Zhang M, Yan Q, Rimm DL, Bianchini G, Hatzis C, Pusztai L. Immunological differences between primary and metastatic breast cancer. Annals Of Oncology 2018, 29: 2232-2239. PMID: 30203045, DOI: 10.1093/annonc/mdy399.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsAdolescentAdultAgedAntineoplastic Agents, ImmunologicalB7-H1 AntigenBiomarkers, TumorBiopsyBreast NeoplasmsDisease ProgressionDrug Resistance, NeoplasmFemaleGene Expression RegulationHumansImmunologic SurveillanceLymphocyte CountLymphocytes, Tumor-InfiltratingMiddle AgedMutation RateTumor EscapeTumor MicroenvironmentYoung AdultConceptsMetastatic breast cancerBreast cancerTherapeutic targetToll-like receptor pathway genesImmuno-oncology therapeutic targetsBreast cancer evolvesImmune proteasome expressionPD-L1 positivityCorresponding primary tumorsPotential therapeutic targetMHC class IImmune-related genesMetastatic cancer samplesLigand/receptor pairLymphocyte countT helperT-regsPD-L1Immune microenvironmentCytotoxic TPrimary tumorMastoid cellsDisease progressionTherapeutic combinationsMacrophage markers
2017
Differences in the immune microenvironment and genomic characteristics of TNBC in African American women compared to other races.
Szekely B, Safonov A, Karn T, Bhagwagar S, Killelea B, Silber A, Hatzis C, Pusztai L. Differences in the immune microenvironment and genomic characteristics of TNBC in African American women compared to other races. Journal Of Clinical Oncology 2017, 35: e13028-e13028. DOI: 10.1200/jco.2017.35.15_suppl.e13028.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchTriple-negative breast cancerNon-AA patientsImmune microenvironmentAfrican American womenImmune signaturesNeoantigen loadImmune metagenesLower pathologic complete response (pCR) ratesPathologic complete response rateComplete response rateNegative breast cancerAmerican womenMann-Whitney U testSignificant differencesClonal heterogeneityTCGA data setsDeletion loadNeoadjuvant therapyLymphocyte countTIL countAA patientsOverall mutational loadHistologic tumorsBreast cancerTreatment response
2016
New Strategies in Breast Cancer: Immunotherapy
Pusztai L, Karn T, Safonov A, Abu-Khalaf MM, Bianchini G. New Strategies in Breast Cancer: Immunotherapy. Clinical Cancer Research 2016, 22: 2105-2110. PMID: 26867935, PMCID: PMC9359478, DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-15-1315.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsBreast cancerClinical trialsEffective immune checkpoint inhibitorsObjective tumor response rateEstrogen receptor-positive cancersLocal antitumor immune responsePhase I clinical trialImmune checkpoint inhibitorsTumor response rateAntitumor immune responseReceptor-positive cancersTriple-negative cancersLocal immune microenvironmentHER2-positive cancersMost breast cancersNew treatment modalitiesCheckpoint inhibitorsDurable responsesL1 antibodyLymphocytic infiltrationImmune microenvironmentImmune infiltrationTreatment modalitiesImmune responsePreclinical studies