Analysis of Morphological Changes in Mast Cells within the Microenvironment of Breast Cancer

This article examines the expression of mast cells in the tumor microenvironment of 50 patients diagnosed with breast cancer, using the immunohistochemical method, based on morphological luminal subtypes. The study focuses on Luminal A, Luminal B Her2/neu-negative, Luminal B Her2/neu-positive (non-luminal type), and Basal-like (triple-negative) subtypes, with 10 patients analyzed for each subtype to assess mast cell activity.

The study investigates the activity of mast cells around tumor blood vessels according to the indicators of luminal subtypes, confirming differences among the subtypes. The results show that the density of blood vessels and mast cells around tumor cells varies: in the Luminal A subtype, mast cells numbered 20–30 per field of view; in the Luminal B Her2-positive subtype, 60–80; in the Her2-positive (non-luminal) subtype, 100–150; and in the Basal-like (triple-negative) subtype, 200 or more.

These findings indicate that the activity level and aggressiveness of breast cancer are associated with the luminal subtype of the tumor and the identified density of mast cells. Mast cells play a role in the microenvironment of breast cancer and have prognostic significance. This highlights their importance as a factor in determining treatment strategies and studying prognosis.