CD47 expression and tumor-associated immune cells in breast cancer and their correlation with molecular subtypes and prognostic factors

Objective: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women and a heterogeneous disease at the molecular level. Since most breast cancer cases are not of a special type, it is suggested that tumor-associated macrophages and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, which are involved in tumor growth, invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis, may be important factors that should be evaluated together with standard criteria to determine the prognosis of cancer and assist in treatment decisions and outcome stratification. In this study, CD47 expression, which is involved in macrophage-mediated immune escape, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, and tumor-associated macrophages were evaluated in breast cancer molecular subgroups and correlated with prognostic factors. Material and method: The immunohistochemistry of CD47, CD163, and CD3 was analyzed on the tissue micro -arrays of 278 invasive breast cancer cases. Results: The CD47, CD163, and CD3 expressions were found to be correlated with various clinicopathological parameters in breast cancer. High levels of CD47, CD163, and CD3 expressions had a significant correlation with the ER status and PR status, Ki-67 proliferation index, and molecular subtype (P < 0.05). The CD47 expression had a significant correlation with the CD3 and CD163 expressions (p = 0.021 and p = 0.001, respectively). Conclusions: Our results suggest that CD47, CD163, and CD3 may be among the prognostic factors of breast cancer. The combined use of CD47, CD163, and CD3 can be a new prognostic factor for patients with breast cancer, especially as a therapeutic target in hormone receptor-negative breast cancer cases and those with a high proliferation index.