Perfil clínico-histopatológico e imunológico do carcinoma invasor de mama em diferentes estadiamentos.

Abstract

Breast cancer (BC) remains the most frequent type of neoplasm among women. In Brazil, approximately 43.74 new cases per 100,000 individuals were estimated in 2022. Strategies that provide greater screening and response predictive factors will certainly increase the survival of these patients. In this context, the characterization of the different cell types in the tumor microenvironment is crucial for the identification of potential predictive targets of treatment response. This study aims to characterize the clinical, anatomopathological and immunological profile of invasive carcinomas in patients with BC, in different stages. Here, we investigated CD8+ and CD4+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), CD68+ tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) that participate in the control of the immune response and are related to the survival of patients with BC. We also performed the characterization of the PD-1+, PD-L1+ and PD-L2+ immune checkpoints molecules involved in the suppression of the antitumor response. Sections of samples from thirty-two patients with BC were submitted to immunohistochemistry for the markers CD8+, CD4+ and CD68+, PD1+, PD-L1+ and PD-L2+, then the expression of these cells in the intratumoral region was evaluated. In the analysis between groups of stages and clinico-histopathological variables, an association between stages and tumor size, estrogen and progesterone receptor and carcinoma in situ was observed. The results showed that patients with stages III and IV have a higher amount of TILs and TAMs in the samples before treatment. The correlation between T lymphocytes (CD8+ and CD4+) and immunocheckpoint markers was also observed. Significant associations between TILs and some clinical and pathological factors make their evaluation a tool for future use in clinical practice.