title: Pregnancy and breastfeeding: a new theory for sHLA-G in breast cancer patients?
abstract: It is now widely recognized that HLA-G molecule is implicated in immune tolerance and particularly in immune subversion of tumor cells. In this study, we explored levels of soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) in plasma samples obtained from women with breast cancer (BC). Additionally, we correlated sHLA-G concentration with pregnancy and breastfeeding history. We reported in this preliminary work significant differences in sHLA-G levels between BC patients with/without breastfeeding experience (p = 0.04). Interestingly, among women with BC, only those without previous pregnancy experience present significant increase in sHLA-G (p = 0.02). Of relevance, we demonstrated that patients without both pregnancy and breastfeeding history have advanced SBR III grade, associated with significant enhancement in tumor size compared with patients who had both experiences (p = 0.028). Taken together, our results indicate the potential implication of previous pregnancy and breastfeeding experience in sHLA-G expression during BC. We theorized that having pregnancy and breastfeeding history may protect against advanced BC stages.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Microorganismes and Active Biomolecules, Département de Biologie, Sciences Faculty of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, 2092, Tunis, Tunisia. ines.zidi@techemail.com.
authors.forename: Inès
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zidi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Screening Process, Centre de Biotechnologie de Sfax, Route Sidi Mansour, BP1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Najla
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kharrat
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Salah Azaiz Institute, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Refaat
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sebai
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Salah Azaiz Institute, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Nour
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zidi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Microorganismes and Active Biomolecules, Département de Biologie, Sciences Faculty of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, 2092, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Hamza
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ben Yahia
authors.affiliation: Ecole Supérieure des Sciences et Techniques de la Santé de Sousse, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Aicha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bouaziz
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Salah Azaiz Institute, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Hela
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rifi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Salah Azaiz Institute, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Amel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mezlini
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental and Diagnostic Medicine, Section Microbiology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rizzo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D059951:HLA-G Antigens / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D059951:HLA-G Antigens
keywords: Breast cancer; Breastfeeding; Pregnancy; sHLA-G