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. 2023 Nov;149(14):12807-12819.
doi: 10.1007/s00432-023-05094-2. Epub 2023 Jul 17.

The elusive Luminal B breast cancer and the mysterious chemokines

Rogério Agenor de Araújo  1   2 , Felipe Andrés Cordero da Luz  3 , Eduarda da Costa Marinho  3 , Camila Piqui Nascimento  3 , Thais Rezende Mendes  3 , Etelvina Rocha Tolentino Mosca  3 , Lara de Andrade Marques  3 , Patrícia Ferreira Ribeiro Delfino  3 , Rafael Mathias Antonioli  3 , Ana Cristina Araújo Lemos da Silva  4 , Maria Luiza Gonçalves Dos Reis Monteiro  4 , Morun Bernardino Neto  5 , Marcelo José Barbosa Silva  6
Affiliations

The elusive Luminal B breast cancer and the mysterious chemokines

Rogério Agenor de Araújo et al. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2023 Nov.

Abstract

Purpose: Invasive ductal breast cancer (IDC) is heterogeneous. Staging and immunohistochemistry (IH) allow for effective therapy but are not yet ideal. Women with Luminal B tumors show an erratic response to treatment. This prospective study with 81 women with breast cancer aims to improve the prognostic stratification of Luminal B patients.

Methods: This is a prospective translational study with 81 women with infiltrating ductal carcinoma, grouped by TNM staging and immunohistochemistry, for survival analysis, and their correlations with the chemokines. Serum measurements of 13 chemokines were performed, including 7 CC chemokines [CCL2(MCP1), CCL3(MIP1α), CCL4(MIP1β), CCL5(Rantes), CCL11(Eotaxin), CCL17(TARC), CCL20(MIP3α)], 6 CXC chemokines [CXCL1(GroAlpha), CXCL5(ENA78), CCXCL8(IL-8), CXCL9(MIG), CXCL10(IP10), CXCL11(ITAC)].

Results: Overall survival was significantly dependent on tumor staging and subtypes by immunohistochemistry, with a median follow-up time the 32.87 months (3.67-65.63 months). There were age correlations with IP10/CXCL10 chemokines (r = 0.4360; p = 0.0079) and TARC/CCL17 (Spearman + 0.2648; p = 0.0360). An inverse correlation was found between body weight and the chemokines Rantes/CCL5 (r = - 0.3098; p = 0.0169) and Eotaxin/CCL11 (r = - 0.2575; p = 0.0470). Smokers had a higher concentration of MIP3α/CCL20 (Spearman + 0.3344; p = 0.0267). Luminal B subtype patients who expressed lower concentrations of ENA78/CXCL5 (≤ 254.83 pg/ml) (Log-Rank p = 0.016) and higher expression of MIP1β/CCL4 (> 34.84 pg/ml) (Log-Rank p = 0.014) had a higher risk of metastases.

Conclusion: Patients with Luminal B breast tumors can be better stratified by serum chemokine expression, suggesting that prognosis is dependent on biomarkers other than TNM and IH.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Chemokines; Immunohistochemistry; Luminal B; Staging.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Overall survival of the 81 patients according to TNM staging
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Overall survival of the 81 patients according to tumor subtypes by immunohistochemistry
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Risk of distant metastasis in patients with Luminal B breast cancer according to the expression of ENA78/CCL17 (Log-Rank p = 0.012)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Risk of distant metastasis in patients with Luminal B breast cancer according to the expression of MIP1beta/CCL4 (Log-Rank p = 0.014)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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