Evaluation of alternative prognostic thresholds for SP142 and 22C3 immunohistochemical PD-L1 expression in triple-negative breast cancer: results from a population-based cohort.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors are now a part of the treatment arsenal for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) but refinement of PD-L1 as a prognostic and predictive biomarker is a clinical priority. We aimed to evaluate the relevance of novel PD-L1 immunohistochemical (IHC) thresholds in TNBC with regard to PD-L1 gene expression, prognostic value, tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), and TNBC molecular subtypes.

Material & Methods: PD-L1 was scored in a tissue microarray with the SP142 (immune cell (IC) score) and the 22C3 (combined positive score; CPS) IHC assays and TIL abundance evaluated in whole slides in a population-based cohort of 237 early-stage TNBC patients.

OneFlowTraX: a user-friendly software for super-resolution analysis of single-molecule dynamics and nanoscale organization.

Super-resolution microscopy (SRM) approaches revolutionize cell biology by providing insights into the nanoscale organization and dynamics of macromolecular assemblies and single molecules in living cells. A major hurdle limiting SRM democratization is post-acquisition data analysis which is often complex and time-consuming. Here, we present OneFlowTraX, a user-friendly and open-source software dedicated to the analysis of single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) approaches such as single-particle tracking photoactivated localization microscopy (sptPALM).

Training pathologists to assess stromal tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes in breast cancer synergises efforts in clinical care and scientific research.

A growing body of research supports stromal tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) density in breast cancer to be a robust prognostic and predicive biomarker. The gold standard for stromal TIL density quantitation in breast cancer is pathologist visual assessment using haematoxylin and eosin-stained slides. Artificial intelligence/machine-learning algorithms are in development to automate the stromal TIL scoring process, and must be validated against a reference standard such as pathologist visual assessment.

Digital PCR quantification of ultrahigh ERBB2 copy number identifies poor breast cancer survival after trastuzumab.

HER2/ERBB2 evaluation is necessary for treatment decision-making in breast cancer (BC), however current methods have limitations and considerable variability exists. DNA copy number (CN) evaluation by droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) has complementary advantages for HER2/ERBB2 diagnostics. In this study, we developed a single-reaction multiplex ddPCR assay for determination of ERBB2 CN in reference to two control regions, CEP17 and a copy-number-stable region of chr.