THE CHARACTERISTICS OF CELLULAR AND HUMORAL IMMUNITY INDICATORS IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS DURING THE COURSE OF NEOADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/2226-2008-2024-5-9Keywords:
breast cancer, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, immune status, systemic immune response, lymphocyte phenotypeAbstract
Background. Breast cancer (BC) is one of the leading oncological diseases worldwide. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is the standard treatment for locally advanced BC. Administering NAC allows for assessing the tumor’s sensitivity to chemotherapy, identifying predictive biomarkers, potentially downstaging the cancer, and enabling organ-preserving surgery. The objective is to characterize the cellular and humoral immune response parameters in patients with BC during neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Materials and methods. The study involved 46 women with stage IIA and IIIB (T1–3N0–3M0) BC, who were prescribed a preoperative chemotherapy regimen. The systemic immune response was assessed by analyzing the population and subcellular composition of peripheral blood lymphocytes. The study was conducted in two phases: before the first chemotherapy cycle (Period I) and after the sixth cycle (Period II) of NAC. Results. Analysis of lymphocyte subpopulations in BC patients undergoing NAC showed significant differences in immune status compared to both the control group and baseline values. The relative levels of CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD16+, and CD20+ cells after completing NAC were statistically significantly different (p<0.01) from both the control group and pre-treatment values. The relative proportion of CD8+CD28+ cells exhibited a trend toward reduction during NAC. Conclusions. In BC patients, the relative levels of CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD16+, and CD20+ cells after completing NAC showed statistically significant differences (p<0.01) compared to both control group values and pre-treatment levels. The relative proportion of CD8+CD28– cells in Period II was significantly different (p<0.001) from both Period I and the control group, with values of 8.4±0.5 cells compared to 5.5±0.4 cells in Period I (p<0.001) and 5.3±0.3 cells in the control group.
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