Morphological features of invasion of tumor cells of invasive ductal breast cancer

Background. Nowadays, it has been proven that along with the invasion of individual tumor cells, their group migration occurs in the invasive front of the tumor, and this is an important factor in tumor progression. Objective: to determine the features of tumor cell invasion in the invasive front (IF) of invasive ductal breast cancer (BCa) without special specific features (IC NST) and to establish associative links between them and the clinical and pathological characteristics of the disease. Methods. The study was performed on BCa samples (after hematoxylin and eosin stained) from 120 patients with invasive ductal BCa I-II stage with G2 grade of tumor differentiation that didn’t receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Results. Tumors were divided into 3 groups: with predominance of parenchymal component (PC), with the larger component of connective tissue, and relatively equivalent ratio of these components. Within the IF of the studied tumors of patients with ІІ stage of the tumor process, group invasion of tumor structures was mainly determined, both separately and in combination. In particular, an increase in solid structures in tumors with a predominance of the PC, and in neoplasms with expressed desmoplastic changes in connective tissue and their advantage, - alveolar, tubular, discrete. Conclusion. In tumors of patients with invasive ductal BCa in the invasive front is dominated by collective migration of tumor cells, which is the starting mechanism of tumor progression and the first step of the metastatic process. Defined associative links between the features of tumor cell invasion and the clinical and pathological characteristics of the tumor process in BCa patients can be used in predicting this form of cancer.

Features of the Lymphoid Microenvironment in Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer

The purpose of the study was to assess the distribution of tumor-infiltrating T-, B-lymphocytes and natural killer cells in various molecular subtypes of invasive ductal breast cancer and to establish their relationship with the degree of tumor differentiation. Materials and methods. The basis of the scientific work was a complex morphological, including immunohistochemical study of 193 cases of invasive ductal breast cancer. General histological processing of the samples was carried out in accordance with the standard technique. Immunohistochemical studies for CD3, CD20, CD56, ER, PR, c-erbB2, Ki-67 were performed according to the manufacturer's protocol with the control of samples. The grade of malignancy was determined according to the modified scheme of P. Scarff, H. Bloom and W. Richardson. The presence, localization, and expression intensity of diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers CD3, CD20, and CD56-positive cells (T-, B-, and natural killer cells, respectively) were determined using the new bioimage analysis software QuPath. Results and discussion. The differences obtained in our study varied depending on the subpopulations of immune cells and their location in the tumor tissue. The density of T and B lymphocytes was higher within the tumor and in the invasive margin in the non-luminal phenotypes compared to the luminal A and B phenotypes. Compared to the density of T-lymphocytes, the B-cell infiltrate was significantly (p <0.01) less pronounced in tumors of both luminal and non-luminal phenotypes. The lowest density of natural killer cells among tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes was found within the tumor of luminal subtypes. The percentage of infiltrates of T and B cells both within the tumor focus and in the invasive margin, as well as natural killer cells in the invasive margin, was significantly lower with G1 and G2 than with the degree of differentiation G3 (p <0.01). As for intratumoral natural killer cells, differences were found only between the degree of differentiation of G2 and G3, and the differences between G1 and G2 were not statistically significant (p> 0.05). Qualitative and quantitative assessment of the intensity of expression of T-, B- and natural killer cells also demonstrated a different degree of expression of lymphocytes, depending on the molecular subtype and location of the infiltrate. The luminal subtype A was characterized by a significant predominance of mild expression (2+) CD3 both within the tumor and in the invasive margin of the tumor (p <0.05), while in the luminal B and Her2 + phenotypes, the intensity of CD3 expression prevailed at the 1+ level. Triple negative tumors were characterized by strong expression of (3+) CD3 within the tumor and in the invasive margin of the tumor in all cases studied. Conclusion. Thus, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in different molecular subtypes of invasive ductal breast cancer can be considered a prognostic biomarker. Our results indicate a relationship between lymphoid infiltrate and the degree of differentiation in invasive ductal breast cancer, especially in less favorable molecular subtypes

miR-205-5p Downregulation and ZEB1 Upregulation Characterize the Disseminated Tumor Cells in Patients with Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer

Background: Dissemination of breast cancer (BC) cells through the hematogenous or lymphogenous vessels leads to metastatic disease in one-third of BC patients. Therefore, we investigated the new prognostic features for invasion and metastasis. Methods: We evaluated the expression of miRNAs and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) genes in relation to CDH1/E-cadherin changes in samples from 31 patients with invasive ductal BC including tumor centrum (TU-C), tumor invasive front (TU-IF), lymph node metastasis (LNM), and CD45-depleted blood (CD45-DB). Expression of miRNA and mRNA was quantified by RT-PCR arrays and associations with clinico-pathological characteristics were statistically evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: We did not verify CDH1 regulating associations previously described in cell lines. However, we did detect extremely high ZEB1 expression in LNMs from patients with distant metastasis, but without regulation by miR-205-5p. Considering the ZEB1 functions, this overexpression indicates enhancement of metastatic potential of lymphogenously disseminated BC cells. In CD45-DB samples, downregulated miR-205-5p was found in those expressing epithelial and/or mesenchymal markers (CTC+) that could contribute to insusceptibility and survival of hematogenously disseminated BC cells mediated by increased expression of several targets including ZEB1. Conclusions: miR-205-5p and potentially ZEB1 gene are promising candidates for markers of metastatic potential in ductal BC.

Comparison of CEA and CA15-3 Markers with Serotonin, Ceruloplasmin and Copper in Breast Cancer Recurrence after Chemotherapy

Background: The serotonin, copper, and ceruloplasmin markers are altered in various cancers, including breast cancer. It has been reported that these markers have the potential to be used in the study of cancer recurrence. The purpose of this study was to compare the levels of serotonin, copper and ceruloplasmin besides the routine breast cancer markers such as CEA and CA15-3 in the blood sample of patients with invasive ductal breast cancer, before and after chemotherapy. Methods: This study was performed on 30 patients with breast cancer. Blood samples were taken from the patients before and after chemotherapy. Necessary data including age, tumor grade and status of Her-2, ER, PR receptors were obtained from patient records. Serotonin, CEA and CA15-3 levels were measured by ELISA method. Ceruloplasmin and copper were measured by nephelometry and colorimetric methods, respectively. Results: Results showed a decrease in serotonin, ceruloplasmin, copper, CEA and CA15-3 after treatment but only the levels of serotonin and ceruloplasmin showed a steady decrease. No significant relationship was observed between tumor grade and ER-PR, Her-2 receptors. Conclusion: This study showed that chemotherapy resulted in steady decline in serotonin and ceruloplasmin levels but this decrease was not steady in levels of CA15-3 and CEA. Therefore, if our results are confirmed by further research, they can be considered as a viable alternative to routine markers in cancer recurrence after chemotherapy.