The expression of thymic stromal lymphopoietin in primary tumors of breast cancer is associated with prognosis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prognostic value of thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) expression in early-stage postoperative breast cancer patients and its relationship with long-term efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy. METHODS: Paraffin sections and clinical data were retrospectively collected from 130 stage I-III breast cancer patients who had underwent surgery at the Chinese PLA General Hospital from January 1st, 2000 to December 31st, 2002. Immunohistochemistry was used to assess TSLP expression in primary lesions of breast cancer. Sections were scanned in a FACS-like tissue cytometry analysis system, and digital images of the tumor area were semi-quantitatively analyzed using HistoQuest analysis software to evaluate the associations of TSLP expression with the prognosis and clinicopathologic features. RESULTS: Multivariate Cox survival analysis showed that the interstitial TSLP positive rate was an independent prognostic factor for disease-free survival (DFS). In patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy, the interstitial TSLP positive rate was an independent prognostic factor for DFS and overall survival (OS). Univariate LOG-RANK showed that, in patients with higher interstitial TSLP positive rates (≥ 39.14%), OS of the patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy was significantly longer than that of those who did not (P=0.008). CONCLUSION: Interstitial TSLP expression in breast tumors is associated with the prognosis and efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy.