HIV status alters immune cell infiltration and activation profile in women with breast cancer

Marcus Bauer ; Pablo Santos

; Andreas Wilfer ; Eunice van den Berg ; Annelle Zietsman ; Martina Vetter

; Sandy Kaufhold ; Claudia Wickenhauser ; Isabel dos-Santos-Silva

; Wenlong Carl Chen

; +6 more... Herbert Cubasch ; Nivashini Murugan

; Valerie McCormack ; Maureen Joffe ; Barbara Seliger

; Eva Kantelhardt ; (2025) HIV status alters immune cell infiltration and activation profile in women with breast cancer. Nature communications, 16 (1). 4699-. ISSN 2041-1723 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-59408-8

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Abstract

The breast cancer (BC)-related mortality is higher and the immunity is altered in women living with HIV (WLWH) compared to HIV-negative women. Therefore, tumor samples of 296 black BC patients from South Africa and Namibia with known age, HIV status, tumor stage, hormone receptor and HER2 status and overall survival (OS) are analyzed for components of the tumor microenvironment (TME). WLWH (n = 117), either with suppressed viral activity (HR = 1.25) or with immune suppression (HR = 2.04), have a shorter OS. HIV status is associated with increased numbers of CD8+ T cells in the TME compared to HIV-negative patients; no correlation is found with CD4+ T cell numbers in the blood. Moreover, an increased expression of CD276/B7-H3 and a more pronounced IFN-γ signaling in the tumors are found in WLWH, independent of age, stage, and BC subtypes. In conclusion, altered T cell composition and CD276 expression in WLWH may contribute to inferior survival and can be used for targeted treatment.