concomitant increase of ox40 and foxp3 transcripts in peripheral blood of patients with breast cancer

background: regulatory t cells (t-regs) have an important role in cancer by suppression of protective antitumor immune responses. regulatory t cells express the forkhead/winged helix transcription factor (foxp3) and ox40 molecules which have important regulatory roles in the immune system. objective: to evaluate foxp3 and ox40 transcripts in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of women with breast cancer. methods: blood samples from 40 women with histologically-confirmed infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the breast and 40 healthy volunteer women without a history of malignancy or autoimmune disorders were collected. the abundance of foxp3 and ox40 gene transcripts were determined by quantitative real-time pcr (qrt-pcr). results: there was a significant positive correlation between foxp3 and ox40 gene expression in women with breast cancer in a stage dependent manner. conclusion: this finding emphasizes the importance of t-regs as predominant targets for breast cancer immunotherapy.