Perez, S.A., et al. - Treg (CD4+CD25+ Regulatory T-Cell) cell frequency does not directly correlate with clinical stage in breast cancer, as stage III and IV HER+ and HER– patients exhibit significantly different Treg profiles. Trastuzumab therapy, either alone or combined with chemotherapy, results in decreased Treg frequency in HER+ advanced patients with an objective clinical response
Methodology
46 HER+ and 28 HER–, stage III and IV, breast cancer patients and 24 healthy donors were enrolled
Circulating Treg frequency and absolute counts before therapy and during trastuzumab therapy and/or chemotherapy were compared
Were correlated with plasma HER extracellular domain concentration and clinical outcome
Results
Treg frequency in HER+ patients was significantly increased compared with both HER– patients and healthy donors
Trastuzumab therapy, with or without combined chemotherapy, resulted in a progressive decrease of circulating Tregs
Percentage change in Tregs statistically correlated with percentage change in plasma HER extracellular domain
Decrease in Tregs correlated with either objective clinical response or stable disease, whereas increased Treg frequency during trastuzumab therapy coincided with disease progression
No statistically significant change in Treg frequency following chemotherapy was observed in HER– patients
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