Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in breast FNA biopsy cytology: A predictor of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in histologic evaluation

摘要

BACKGROUND: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are associated with various clinicopathological features. Using cyto-logic specimens for assessing TILs remains to be established. This retrospective study aimed to establish a practical method to assess TILs in cytologic samples. METHODS: The authors found 1101 breast fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) cytology samples in their hospital, and 214 of them met the inclusion criteria. The TILs score was evaluated using histologic slides, and breast cancers were divided into 2 groups: low- (8 had 87.5% sensitivity and 90.5% specificity. In the validation test, the AUC was 0.79 (95% CI, 0.6-0.93) whereas sensitivity and specificity were 57% and 89.5%, respectively. When small tumors 0.5 cm. Cytologic evaluation can potentially substitute for histologic evaluation of TILs.