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A2A Receptors Are Highly Expressed in Young Patients with Luminal B and Triple Negative Breast Cancer Subtypes and Are Associated with a Higher Proliferate Index
Author(s) -
Guimei Maha,
Eladl Mohamed Ahmed,
Tawfik Dalia Ra'a Ahmed,
Habbal Fuad Wardan,
Harrous Abdelkader,
ElSherbiny Mohamed
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2018.32.1_supplement.lb587
Subject(s) - breast cancer , tumor microenvironment , triple negative breast cancer , receptor , immune system , immunohistochemistry , cancer , cancer research , medicine , pathological , cd8 , pathology , biology , immunology
Background and Objectives Numerous Molecules in the tumor microenvironment orchestrate the body's immune response against tumor cells thereby affecting tumor cell growth and proliferation. Adenosine is produced in the hypoxic tumor milieu and by stimulating its receptors (A2AR), plays an important immunosuppressive role that helps tumor cells evade the body s immune mechanisms. Furthermore, stimulation of these receptors also has a profound role in promoting the tumor vasculature and contributing to tumor aggressiveness. The present study aimed at investigating A2AR expression in breast cancer tissue and its association with different clinicopathological parameters of the tumor. Methods This study was conducted on 30 formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded (FFPE) human breast cancer tissues. Sections were immunohistochemically stained with of A 2 AR antibodies. Clinical and pathological data were retrospectively obtained from the patients' records in the archives of the pathology department at Alexandria University, Egypt. Results A2ARs were expressed not only on the tumor‐infiltrating immune cells (TILs) but were also found on the tumor cells themselves in 73.3% (n=22) of breast cancer tumors. Their expression on the tumor cells was significantly higher in younger age patients (< 50 years) (88.2%) compared to older ones (54.5%) [p=0.044]. A2AR expression was also significantly associated with a Luminal B as well as triple‐negative tumors [p=0.028] compared to Luminal A and Her2‐enriched tumors. Patients expressing A2A receptors had a significantly higher expression of Progesterone receptors [P=0.031] compared to ER expression [P=0.098]. The majority of A2AR expressing tumors had a mitotic index score of 2 [p=0.013] as well as a significantly higher proliferative index (ki‐67 >20%) [p=0.018]. No association was observed between A2AR expression and tumor size, type, grade, Lymph node status, the percentage of TILs or patient survival after 2 years of follow‐up. Conclusion Our study confirmed that A2AR were strongly expressed on breast cancer tumor cells in younger patients particularly those of luminal B and triple negative subtypes. Their expression was associated with a significantly higher proliferative index suggesting a possible role of these receptors in imparting a more aggressive phenotype and that targeting these receptors could have a potential role in improving the outcome of these patients. This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .