Predictive value of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes for neoadjuvant therapy response in triple-negative breast cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Figure 1 PRISMA flow diagram for study selection of systematic review and meta-analysis. pCR: Pathological complete response; TIL: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte; TNBC: Triple-negative breast cancer.

Figure 2 Forest plot demonstrating the correlation between tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte levels and the pathological complete response rate in triple-negative breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy. TIL: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte.

Figure 3 Funnel plot illustrating the correlation between tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte levels and the pathological complete response rate in studies investigating neoadjuvant therapy in triple-negative breast cancer patients. A: An asymmetric funnel plot and Egger’s test P value (P = 0.001) less than 0.05 suggested potential publication bias in the included studies of overall meta-analysis; B: Trim-and-fill method showed that there was no significant asymmetry in the trimmed funnel plot and still significant overall meta-analytical effect size after adjusting for publication bias, suggesting that there was limited or insignificant publication bias.

Figure 4 Forest plot illustrating subgroup analysis based on study design of included meta-analysis. TIL: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte; RCT: Randomized controlled trial.

Figure 5 Forest plot illustrating the correlation between tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte levels and pathological complete response rates across various neoadjuvant therapy regimens. TIL: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte; AC: Anthracycline combined with cyclophosphamide; AC-T: Anthracycline combined with cyclophosphamide followed by paclitaxel or docetaxel; TAC: Paclitaxel or docetaxel combined with anthracycline, and cyclophosphamide; AC-TCb: Anthracycline combined with cyclophosphamide followed by paclitaxel or docetaxel, and platinum; AC-T + Fu: Anthracycline combined with cyclophosphamide followed by paclitaxel or docetaxel, and fluorouracil.