Association of computed tomography scan-assessed body composition with immune and PI3K/AKT pathway proteins in...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Radiology
• Immunology

Background:

• Body composition, including adipose tissue and skeletal muscle, is increasingly recognized as a factor in cancer.
• Understanding the relationship between body composition and tumor microenvironment signaling pathways is crucial for personalized treatment strategies.

Approach:

• This study classified 52 breast cancer patients into four body composition phenotypes based on computed tomography (CT) scans.
• Immune and PI3K/AKT pathway proteins were analyzed in tumor and stromal compartments using GeoMx (NanoString).
• Statistical models identified associations between body composition types and protein expression levels.

Key Points:

• Low muscle mass was linked to higher INPP4B expression and altered CTLA4 and pan-AKT levels in tumor epithelium.
• High adiposity correlated with increased expression of immune cell markers (CD3, CD8, CD20, CD45RO) in the tumor stroma.
• Specific body composition phenotypes show distinct associations with immune and signaling pathways within breast tumors.

Conclusions:

• Body composition phenotypes are associated with distinct immune and PI3K/AKT signaling pathway profiles in breast tumors.
• These findings highlight the potential of body composition assessment to inform breast cancer biology and predict treatment response.
• Further validation is needed to confirm the clinical utility of these associations.