Journal article

Interobserver variability in the assessment of stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (sTILs) in triple-negative invasive breast carcinoma influences the association with pathological complete response: the IVITA study

Mieke R Van Bockstal, Aline Francois, Serdar Altinay, Laurent Arnould, Maschenka Balkenhol, Glenn Broeckx, Octavio Burgues, Cecile Colpaert, Franceska Dedeurwaerdere, Benjamin Dessauvagie, Valerie Duwel, Giuseppe Floris, Stephen Fox, Clara Gerosa, Delfyne Hastir, Shabnam Jaffer, Eline Kurpershoek, Magali Lacroix-Triki, Andoni Laka, Kathleen Lambein Show all

MODERN PATHOLOGY | SPRINGERNATURE | Published : 2021

Abstract

High stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (sTILs) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) are associated with pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Histopathological assessment of sTILs in TNBC biopsies is characterized by substantial interobserver variability, but it is unknown whether this affects its association with pCR. Here, we aimed to investigate the degree of interobserver variability in an international study, and its impact on the relationship between sTILs and pCR. Forty pathologists assessed sTILs as a percentage in digitalized biopsy slides, originating from 41 TNBC patients who were treated with NAC followed by surgery. Pathological respo..

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Grants

Awarded by Foundation against Cancer (Brussels, Belgium)


Awarded by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center


Funding Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the help of Mr. Sebastien Godecharles with digitalizing the HE slides used in this study. MRVB received a postdoctoral mandate (grant number 2019-089) from the not-for-profit organization Foundation against Cancer (Brussels, Belgium), and is supported by the "Fonds dr. Gaetan Lagneaux" of the Fondation Saint-Luc (Brussels, Belgium). OB has received personal consultancy fees from Roche, outside the scope of the present work. GF received a postdoctoral mandate from the Klinish Onderzoek en Opleidingsraad (KOOR) of the University Hospitals Leuven. CM has received personal consultancy fees from Roche, Bayer, Astrazeneca and Daiichi Sankyo, outside the scope of the present work. HW is supported by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Support Grant/Core Grant (P30 CA008748), awarded by the National Cancer Institute. CG is supported by the "Fonds dr. Gaetan Lagneaux" of the Fondation Saint-Luc (Brussels, Belgium).