| Sumario: | Translation/Implementation Science Background & Significance: Breast cancer (BC) is the most prevalent malignancy among women worldwide, with substantial molecular heterogeneity that directly influences treatment strategies. Evidence suggests that many cancers arise from dysregulated chronic inflammatory processes. Transcription factors such as NF-kappaB, AP-1, and STAT3--and their gene products--play key roles in linking inflammation and carcinogenesis. These pathways may be influenced by sociodemographic and environmental factors including age, race/ethnicity, inflammation, and educational level. Purpose: To analyze the association between inflammatory biomarkers and clinical-sociodemographic variables in women with breast cancer undergoing outpatient chemotherapy, comparing data from the first (C1) and sixth (C6) treatment cycles. Methods: This longitudinal observational study was conducted at a public oncology referral hospital in Brazil. Women aged >18 years with newly diagnosed BC (stages I-III), eligible for outpatient chemotherapy, were included. A non-probabilistic sample of 50 participants was followed from the first (Ci) to the sixth (C6) chemotherapy cycle. Clinical and socio-demographic data were collected from the Hospital Cancer Registry. Peripheral blood samples were collected prior to chemotherapy at Ci and C6. Inflammatory biomarkers included neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), and C-reactive protein (CRP). Statistical analysis was performed using RStudio and Linear Mixed Models (LMM), adjusted for sociodemographic and clinical covariates. Glass's delta was used to estimate effect sizes, and Wilcoxon and ANOVA tests assessed paired comparisons and variance. Findings and Interpretations: Significant variation was observed in PLR (p = 0.001) and LMR (p = 0.001), with a trend for NLR (p = 0.088). NLR was associated with age (p = 0.022); PLR with time (p = 0.001); and CRP with age (p = 0.002), race/ ethnicity (p = 0.003), and education (p = 0.009). No significant differences were found between ductal and invasive histological subtypes for any biomarker at the end of treatment. Discussion: Inflammatory biomarkers are influenced by clinical and social determinants of health, independent of tumor histological subtype. These markers may be useful in clinical practice as complementary indicators of treatment response and as tools to guide multidisciplinary, personalized, and equitable care in clinical oncology.
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