AP202P Sigma-AldrichGoat Anti-Rat light chain Antibody, HRP conjugate

Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) are highly organized immune cell aggregates that develop at sites of inflammation or infection in non-lymphoid organs. Despite the described role of inflammation in tumor progression, it is still unclear whether the process of lymphoid neogenesis and biological function of ectopic lymphoid tissue in tumors are beneficial or detrimental to tumor growth. In this study we analysed if TLS are found in human breast carcinomas and its association with clinicopathological parameters.In a patient group (n = 290) who underwent primary surgery between 2011 and 2012 we assessed the interrelationship between the presence of TLS in breast tumors and clinicopathological factors. Prognostic factors were entered into a binary logistic regression model for identifying independent predictors for intratumoral TLS formation.There was a positive association between the grade of immune cell infiltration within the tumor and important prognostic parameters such as hormone receptor status, tumor grade and lymph node involvement. The majority of patients with high grade infiltration of immune cells had TLS positive tumors. In addition to the degree of immune cell infiltration, the presence of TLS was associated with organized immune cell aggregates, hormone receptor status and tumor grade. Tumors with histological grade 3 were the strongest predictor for the presence of TLS in a multivariate regression model. The model also predicted that the odds for having intratumoral TLS formation were ten times higher for patients with high grade of inflammation than low grade.Human breast carcinomas frequently contain TLS and the presence of these structures is associated with aggressive forms of tumors. Locally generated immune response with potentially antitumor immunity may control tumorigenesis and metastasis. Thus, defining the role of TLS formation in breast carcinomas may lead to alternative therapeutic approaches targeting the immune system.

Oral squamous cell carcinomas are often heavily infiltrated by immune cells. The organization of B-cells, follicular dendritic cells, T-cells and high-endothelial venules into structures termed tertiary lymphoid structures have been detected in various types of cancer, where their presence is found to predict favourable outcome. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the incidence of tertiary lymphoid structures in oral squamous cell carcinomas, and if present, analyse whether they were associated with clinical outcome.Tumour samples from 80 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma were immunohistochemically stained for B-cells, follicular dendritic cells, T-cells, germinal centre B-cells and high-endothelial venules. Some samples were sectioned at multiple levels to assess whether the presence of tertiary lymphoid structures varied within the tumour.Tumour-associated tertiary lymphoid structures were detected in 21 % of the tumours and were associated with lower disease-specific death. The presence of tertiary lymphoid structures varied within different levels of a tissue block.Tertiary lymphoid structure formation was found to be a positive prognostic factor for patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. Increased knowledge about tertiary lymphoid structure formation in oral squamous cell carcinoma might help to develop and guide immune-modulatory cancer treatments.