Tertiary lymphoid structures in high-grade serous tubo-ovarian carcinoma: anatomical site matters
Author Information
Author(s): Westbom-Fremer Sofia, Tran Lena, Ebbesson Anna, Martin de la Fuente Laura, Jönsson Jenny-Maria, Kannisto Päivi, Veerla Srinivas, Hedenfalk Ingrid
Primary Institution: Lund University
Hypothesis
The study aims to investigate the presence and composition of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) and lymphoid aggregates (LA) in primary tumors and synchronous metastases of high-grade serous tubo-ovarian carcinoma.
Conclusion
The study found that mature TLS are more common in peritoneal metastases than in primary tumors, but they do not have an independent prognostic impact on overall or progression-free survival.
Supporting Evidence
- Mature TLS were more common in peritoneal metastases than in primary tumors.
- The presence of mTLS correlated with intratumoral infiltration of CD8+ cytotoxic T cells in pMets.
- Overall mTLS cell composition was similar between primary tumors and metastases.
Takeaway
The study looked at special immune structures in ovarian cancer and found that they are more common in metastases than in the original tumors, but they don't seem to help patients live longer.
Methodology
The study used whole H&E slides and tissue microarrays to evaluate mature TLS, immature TLS, and lymphoid aggregates in a cohort of 130 cases of stage III-IV high-grade serous tubo-ovarian carcinoma.
Limitations
The study had a limited number of cases with known BRCA/homologous repair status and did not find a clear association between HRD and TLS/LA presence.
Participant Demographics
The study included consecutive cases diagnosed with high-grade serous tubo-ovarian carcinoma at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics in southern Sweden between 2011 and 2015.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p=0.0072 for mTLS presence in pMets vs PTs
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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