Can TILs be associated with prognostic factors and survival rates in breast cancer? A retrospective analysis

Introduction: The relationship between the tumor inflammatory infiltrate, also known as tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), and invasive breast carcinomas has been extensively studied in recent years to verify its association with prognosis and response to treatment. The goal of this study was to associate the presence of TILs with patient's survival time. Methods: We studied prognostic clinicopathological characteristics already established in the literature and their impact on overall five-year survival time of patients with invasive breast cancer treated at Hospital Santa Casa in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, in 2011 (n=290). This was an observational and retrospective study. Results: The presence of TILs was associated with tumors of no special type (p=0.018) and with younger age of the patients (p=0.042). Smaller tumor size (HR: 19.24; 95%CI 4.30­86.15; p<0.001), absence of metastasis to the axillary lymph nodes (HR: 2.80; 95%CI 1.02­7.70; p=0.002), positivity for progesterone receptor (HR: 0.39; 95%CI 0.17­0.87; p=0.022), and presence of TILs (HR: 0.23; 95%CI 0.08­0.65; p=0.005) were associated with longer survival times. Conclusions: This study suggests that the presence of TILs, along with other clinicopathological characteristics, is a prognostic factor in breast cancer

Comparative study of intraperitoneal adhesions related to light-weight polypropylene mesh and type I polymerized and purified bovine collagen coated light-weight polypropylene mesh in rabbits

Abstract Purpose: To compare the effectiveness of light-weight polypropylene mesh coated with polymerized and purified bovine type I collagen (Surgidry HNB) in the treatment of abdominal wall defect and the degree of adhesion formation. Methods: Two types of polypropylene mesh were implanted after creation of defect measuring 6.0cm X 5.5cm in the anterior abdominal wall of 32 male New Zealand breed rabbits, divided in two groups (n = 32): (1) light-weigh macroporous polypropylene, (2) type I polymerized and purified bovine collagen coated light-weigh macroporous polypropylene. These animals were further accessed for adhesions, histological evaluation of inflammation and wall's thickness. Results: The percentage of the area adhered in group 1 (62.31 ± 16.6) was higher compared to group 2 (22.19 ± 14.57) (p <0.05). There was an association between the percentage of the covered area by adhesions and the type of adhesion, toughness and the scores obtained by the adhesion score by correlation analysis (p <0.05). There was no difference between the groups in any variables in relation to the degree of inflammation. Conclusion: The purified type I bovine collagen coated light-weigh polypropylene mesh showed to be effective in the repair of abdominal wall defects and reducing adhesion formation.