SUMMARY
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the expression of C-X-C motif
chemokine ligand 12 and its
C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4, and the
tumor -stroma ratio using
collagen stromal content of
breast cancer samples, correlating it with clinicopathological data.
METHODS: Through a retrospective
cohort study , samples were obtained from
female patients , over 18 years of age, with the
disease in stages 1-4,
who underwent
mastectomy or
lumpectomy . The
biopsies were provided by the Oncology sector of the
Hospital das Clínicas of Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife city, in 2011-2014, including samples of invasive
ductal carcinoma ,
ductal carcinoma in situ , or benign changes (
fibroadenoma and
hypertrophy ), which were analyzed between 2020 and 2022 by
immunohistochemistry for the expression of
stromal cell characteristics.
Collagen content was tested by Gomori
staining and digital
analysis of images.
RESULTS: Absence of stromal expression of C-X-C motif
chemokine ligand 12 was associated with longer
disease-free survival (
disease-free survival =0.481), and expression of
C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 was associated with lower
disease-free survival . An
association was observed between clinicopathological variables and stromal expression of
chemokines , that is, an
association of stromal C-X-C motif
chemokine ligand 12 with histological grade, angiolymphatic invasion, and an
association between
C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 expression and histological grade. Analyses of digital pixels images of
collagen and
tumor cells showed a lower percentage of
collagen in the invasive
ductal carcinoma samples (39%), unlike samples without
neoplasms (78%).
CONCLUSION: Low expression of C-X-C motif
chemokine ligand 12 may be associated with a worse
prognosis for
breast cancer .
Collagen staining analyzed using digital images represents an opportunity for clinical application and is indicative of the
prognosis of the
tumor microenvironment in
breast carcinoma .