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 microenvironment