We investigated relationship between galectin-3 (Gal-3) levels and T lymphocytes apoptosis and the activation rates in breast cancer during chemotherapy. We used plasma samples from 112 women classified into two groups: 70 women with breast cancer (BC) and submitted to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (3 cycles) and 42 healthy women used as controls. In the group of BC, blood samples were taken before each cycle of chemotherapy and Gal-3 levels was evaluated by ELISA sandwich. Flow cytometry was used to study T cells apoptosis and activation. Before treatment, median value of Gal-3 was 6.31 ng/ml (range 1.07 -50.74) in BC and 0.84 ng/ml (range 0.00 -4.82) in HC. Gal-3 levels were highest in plasmas from BC (p < 0.001). During the same period, proportions of apoptotic T lymphocytes were highest in BC compared to HC (p < 0.05). Similar results were observed about T cells activation. According to clinical symptoms, we observed, in the group of patients with a low or null response to chemotherapy, a positive correlation between gal-3 levels and tumor size (rho = 0.48; p = 0.010). In addition, we found a dynamic relationship between gal-3 levels, tumor size and T lymphocytes apoptosis rates during treatment depending to the cure efficiency. We suggest gal-3 plasma concentrations could be used as predictive biomarker for chemotherapy efficiency in breast cancer patients.

Galectin‐3 is a member of the lectin family encoded by the LGALS3 gene on chromosome 14. It is secreted by a wide range of immune cells and mammary tumor cells. Through its activity on the tumor microenvironment, in particular on tumor‐infiltrating leukocytes, galectin‐3 improves the proliferation, survival, and colonizing ability of mammary neoplastic cells. Consequently, galectin‐3 expression in the tumor microenvironment could worsen therapeutic outcomes of breast neoplasms and become a biomarker and a therapeutic target in combined immunotherapy in breast neoplasms. There is a limited amount of information that is available on galectin‐3 in breast cancer in Africa. In this review, we analyze how galectin‐3 influences the tumor microenvironment and its potential as a biomarker and therapeutic target in breast neoplasms. We aim to emphasize the significance of investigating galectin‐3 in breast neoplasms in Africa based on the results of studies conducted elsewhere.