Mast Cells as an Indicator and Prognostic Marker in Molecular Subtypes of Breast Cancer

Abstract

Background/Aim: Mast cells (MCs) represent the most controversial non-malignant element of the tumor microenvironment. Our aim was to study how MCs density and distribution (intratumoral-MCit versus peritumoral-MCpt) relate to tumor grade and molecular subtypes. Materials and Methods: MCs tryptase immunohistochemistry was performed on 80 cases of breast carcinomas. Results: For Luminal A tumors, a partial correlation was detected between MCit and progesterone receptor (PR) (p=0.005). Luminal B tumors showed a significant correlation between MCpt and age (p=0.009), estrogen receptor (ER) (p=0.017) and PR (p=0.035). MCit and MCpt were strongly interrelated in this subtype (p=0.002) and in triplenegative breast cancers (p=0.002). In HER2 subtype, MCpt tumors were significantly correlated with HER2 (p=0.044). In G2 tumors, MCpt correlated with ER (p=0.015) and PR (p=0.038) while in G3 tumors ER correlated with both MCit (p=0.009) and MCpt (p=0.000487) tumors. Conclusion: MCs dynamics are strongly influenced by hormone receptors and HER2 status. MCit increased in aggressive tumor types and is a worse prognostic factor.

Bioinformatics analysis of immune infiltration patterns in breast cancer for identification of prognostic markers

“…[45] Some scholars believe that mast cell infiltration suggests a good prognosis of breast cancer. [46,47] On the other hand, MCs as a proliferating factor, can stimulate the development of breast cancer and is related to the adverse reactions of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer, [48,49] which is consistent with the poor prognosis of high expression MCs found in our study. A large number of studies have shown that TIICs has prognostic value independent of many established prognostic signs, and single TIICs have the ability to predict clinical outcomes.…”

An In Vitro Model of Mast Cell Recruitment and Activation by Breast Cancer Cells Supports Anti-Tumoral Responses

“…The concentrations of SCF, RANTES and SDF1 used were the mean found in all conditioned media (20 pg/mL SCF, 50 pg/mL RANTES, 200 pg/mL SDF1); G-CSF, GM-CSF, MCP1 and IL-8 were used in two different concentrations: the mean found in non-aggressive cells (defined as low concentration), and the mean found in MDA-MB-231 aggressive cells (defined as high concentration). Low concentrations were: 50 pg/mL G-CSF, 50 pg/mL GM-CSF, 500 pg/mL MCP1 and 50 pg/mL IL-8; while high concentrations were: 5 ng/mL G-CSF, 500 pg/mL GM-CSF, 5…”

“…Mast cells (MCs) are also common components of the breast tumor stroma [2,3,5]. MCs are multifunctional tissue-resident cells of the immune system, that upon activation, and depending on the type of stimuli and receptor involved, release three distinct classes of biologically active compounds:…”

“…Mast cells (MCs) are also common components of the breast tumor stroma [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]. MCs are multifunctional tissue-resident cells of the immune system, that upon activation, and depending on the type of stimuli and receptor involved, release three distinct classes of biologically active compounds: (1) preformed compounds that are stored in cytoplasmic granules, (2) neoformed compounds derived from arachidonic acid oxidation, and (3) neosynthesized compounds derived from transcriptional activation and protein synthesis [ 6 , 7 ].…”

“…The MC role in cancer progression is controversial; while some studies associate high tumor MC density with BrC subtypes of good prognosis or with favorable clinical outcomes [ 5 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ], others find them associated with aggressive features [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. One potential problem of current approaches to elucidate the participation of MCs in BrC progression, is that most studies are observational and correlative, and until now the molecular mechanisms have not been elucidated.…”