REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. T Cell Biology
This article is part of the Research TopicHarnessing T Cell Effectors: From Mechanisms to TherapiesView all 6 articles
Tumor-infiltrating Lymphocyte Therapy in Triple-negative Breast Cancer: From Mechanistic Exploration to Clinical Translation
Provisionally accepted
- First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
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Abstract: Breast cancer is a common malignancy among women, with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) representing a subtype with poor prognosis. Due to the lack of expression of targetable receptors, traditional hormone therapy and HER2-targeted therapy are ineffective against TNBC. Moreover, TNBC typically exhibits more aggressive biological behavior, with a high propensity for recurrence and metastasis, further exacerbating its poor prognosis. While chemotherapy remains the primary treatment modality, its efficacy is limited, and patients readily develop resistance. Consequently, exploring novel therapeutic strategies and targets is crucial for improving the prognosis of patients with TNBC. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are promising prognostic and predictive biomarkers of TNBC. Multiple studies have demonstrated that a higher number of TILs in early-stage TNBC is correlated with favorable outcomes. Furthermore, clinical trials have demonstrated that TIL therapy is effective in solid tumors. This review outlines the current understanding of the TIL role in TNBC, elucidates the mechanisms and clinical efficacy of TIL therapy, and discusses future research directions and challenges for TILs.
Keywords: Immunotherapy, predictive biomarkers, TIL therapy, TILs, TNBC
Received: 07 Nov 2025; Accepted: 02 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Wang, Zhang, Chen, Xie and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Fang Wang
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