Psychological State, Immunotherapy Response, and Multi-Omics Signatures in TNBC

The goal of this prospective observational study is to understand how psychological status influences the therapeutic response and long-term outcomes of patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) receiving neoadjuvant immunotherapy. The study primarily focuses on the association between psychological status and pathological complete response (pCR) as well as event-free survival (EFS).

In this study, early-stage TNBC patients undergoing standard neoadjuvant immunotherapy will complete psychological assessments at baseline and multiple timepoints during treatment. Measurement include self-assessment questionnaires like GAD-7 and PHQ-9 and clinician-administered depression assessment scale like Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). Blood and saliva samples will be collected to measure immune cell subsets, inflammatory cytokines, cortisol, and heart rate variability (HRV). Treatment response (pCR, ORR) and long-term outcomes (EFS) will be recorded and analyzed. By integrating psychological measures, circulating immune markers, and clinical efficacy endpoints, researchers aim to build a psychological-immune-response association model and identify psychophysiological biomarkers that may predict immunotherapy benefit.

Inclusion criteria

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Participants must meet all of the following criteria:

• Age ≥ 18 years;
• Female patients;
• Voluntarily agrees to participate in the study and signs the informed consent form, with good compliance and willingness to complete follow-up assessments;
• Histologically confirmed invasive triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), defined as ER < 1%, PR < 1%, and HER-2 0-1+ by IHC, or HER-2 2+ with negative FISH/CISH results (no gene amplification);
• Planned to receive neoadjuvant immunotherapy-based treatment as part of routine clinical care.

Exclusion criteria

Patients will be excluded if any of the following conditions apply:

• Presence of distant metastasis;
• History of other malignancies, except for adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer, carcinoma in situ of the cervix, or cancers with no evidence of disease for ≥ 5 years;
• Participation in another clinical trial and receipt of an investigational drug or treatment within 30 days before initiation of neoadjuvant therapy;
• Known immunodeficiency or HIV infection;
• Severe cardiac, pulmonary, hepatic, or renal dysfunction;
• Uncontrolled infection or active systemic infection;
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding;
• Severe psychological or cognitive impairment that precludes completion of psychological assessments.