There is increasing evidence for the importance of immunity in breast cancer. IFNγ is expected to have a prognostic value based on its major role in innate and specific cell-mediated immunity. In this retrospective study, based on the 14-year follow-up of 73 patients with breast cancer after surgery and radiotherapy but no subsequent systemic therapy, we investigated the prognostic time dependence of intra-tumoural IFNγ mRNA and protein levels. Over the entire 14 years of follow-up, neither IFNγ mRNA nor protein was significantly associated with metastasis outcome by AUC and Cox regression criteria. However, evaluation of the shorter periods has revealed a prognostic significance in the late follow-up period of 7-14 years for IFNγ mRNA and protein with the maximal respective AUCs of 0.72 and 0.73 and hazard ratios of 6.1 and 5.2, respectively. Interestingly, the opposite prognostic association was discovered for IFNγ mRNA and protein in the first 7 years of follow-up, possibly due to the negative correlation of IFNγ protein and mRNA. Moreover, the prognostic association of IFNγ mRNA has shifted from marking the favourable outcome in the first 7 years to poor outcome thereafter. This study contributes to clarification of the previously inconsistent prognostic performance of IFNγ by providing the first prognostic evaluation with long follow-up, time-dependence assessment and absence of any chemotherapy influence.

中文翻译：

---

乳腺癌患者的肿瘤内IFNγmRNA和蛋白的预后时间依赖性是在手术和放疗后的14年中进行的，无需随后的全身治疗。

越来越多的证据表明免疫在乳腺癌中的重要性。基于其在先天性和特异性细胞介导的免疫中的主要作用，预计IFNγ具有预后价值。在这项回顾性研究中，基于对73例乳腺癌患者的手术和放疗后但未进行后续全身治疗的14年随访，我们研究了肿瘤内IFNγmRNA和蛋白水平对预后的时间依赖性。在整个14年的随访中，根据AUC和Cox回归标准，IFNγmRNA和蛋白均与转移结果无显着相关性。但是，对较短时期的评估显示，在7-14年的晚期随访期中，IFNγmRNA和蛋白质的预后意义重大，各自的最大AUC分别为0.72和0.73，危险比分别为6.1和5.2。有趣的是，在随访的前7年中发现了IFNγmRNA和蛋白的相反预后关联，可能是由于IFNγ蛋白和mRNA的负相关。此外，IFNγmRNA的预后关联已从最初7年的良好预后转变为此后的不良预后。这项研究通过提供长期随访，时间依赖性评估和无任何化疗影响的首次预后评估，有助于阐明IFNγ先前不一致的预后表现。IFNγmRNA的预后关联已从最初7年的良好预后转变为此后的不良预后。这项研究通过提供长期随访，时间依赖性评估和无任何化疗影响的首次预后评估，有助于阐明IFNγ先前不一致的预后表现。IFNγmRNA的预后关联已从最初7年的良好预后转变为此后的不良预后。这项研究通过提供长期随访，时间依赖性评估和无任何化疗影响的首次预后评估，有助于阐明IFNγ先前不一致的预后表现。