The Preoperative Serum Levels of the Anaphylatoxins C۳a and C۵a and Their Association with Clinico-Pathological Factors in Breast Cancer Patients

Breast cancer is a common women malignancy worldwide. Emerging evidence suggests that various complement molecules function as an immune suppressors in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Therefore this study aimed to investigate the role of the anaphylatoxins C۳a and C۵a in the propagation of breast cancer and their relationships with clinicopathological factors in Iraqi women suffering from breast tumors. ELISA technique was used to determine the serum anaphylatoxins C۳a and C۴a levels in ۶۰ Iraqi women with breast tumors (۳۰ with primary breast cancer and ۳۰ with benign breast tumor) before surgery and treatment as ۳۰ healthy controls. In addition, the clinicopathological factors of all the patients were collected. The result showed a significantly increased level of anaphylatoxins C۳a and C۵a (P<۰.۰۰۱) in primary breast cancer patients than in benign breast tumor and healthy control women. The area under the curve (AUC) of C۳a and C۵a for distinguishing patients with primary breast cancer and healthy control subjects was ۰.۸۷۸ (۹۵% CI: ۰.۷۶۸ to ۰.۹۴۸) and ۰.۹۵۳ (۹۵% CI: ۰.۸۶۵ to ۰.۹۹۱) respectively. C۵a correlated with larger tumor size, lymph node metastasis, and histologic grade III, whereas C۳a only with lymph node metastasis. In conclusion, preoperative levels of C۵a exhibit high accuracy for primary breast cancer than C۳a. C۵a correlated with tumor burden more than C۳a and suggested an enhancing effect of C۵a on BC proliferation. Thus, suggesting prognostic value for C۵a in primary BC.

Keywords:

Breast cancer , C۳a , C۵a , Clinico-pathological factors , Prognosis