Tic-Tac-Toe: Maximum Entropy Analysis of the Spatial T Cell Distribution in the Tumor Microenvironment of Breast Cancer

The effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy is dependent on the infiltration of T cells into the tumor. Using maximum entropy, we analyzed the spatial distribution of T cells in the tumor microenvironment of tissue resected from triple negative breast cancer patients. We find that at longer length scales (> 200 microns), the distribution is self-similar. Furthermore, there is a distinct difference between good and poor clinical outcome. We discuss possible interpretations as well as the prognostic potential of this approach.