Presence of circulating Her2-reactive CD8 + T-cells is associated with lower frequencies of myeloid-derived suppressor cells and regulatory T cells, and better survival in older breast cancer patients

INTRODUCTION: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women. Its incidence is increasing in many countries and a higher number of older women are now being diagnosed with the disease. Immune parameters are implicated in disease progression, and the frequencies of both myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and regulatory T cells (Tregs), associated with tumour burden, have been suggested to be indicators of poor prognosis in cases of metastatic breast cancer. METHODS: Here, we have assessed the frequency of peripheral Tregs and MDSCs in relation to in vitro T cell responses to Her2 antigen in 40 untreated breast cancer patients 65 to 87 years of age at diagnosis. RESULTS: The five-year survival rate of patients who mounted a CD8+ T cell response to Her2 peptides and had a lower frequency of Lin(−)CD14(+)HLA-DR(−)MDSCs was 100% compared to only 38% in patients without Her2-reactive CD8+ T cells and with higher frequencies of MDSCs (P = 0.03). Patients who lacked a CD8 response to Her2 tended to have higher frequencies of MDSCs. Similarly, patients who lacked a CD8 response to Her2 and had higher frequencies of CD4(+)Foxp3(+)CD127(low)CD25(+) Tregs had only 50% survival compared to the 100% survival of patients who did mount a CD8 response and had lower frequencies of Tregs (P = 0.03). A similar trend was observed for activated (CD4(+)CD45RA(−)Foxp3(hi)) but not resting Tregs (CD4(+)CD45RA(+)FoxP3(+)). This survival advantage was observed in both metastatic and non-metastatic patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrate a negative role of both MDSCs and Tregs in the prognosis of breast cancer patients, the mechanism of which might be through dampening favourable CD8+ T cell immune responses to tumour-associated antigens. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13058-015-0541-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.