After stratification of PD-L1 status and CD163 + PD-L1 + macrophages by TNM stage, significant differences among breast cancer subtypes were identified only in stage I and II breast cancer patients; interestingly, infiltration of CD163 + macrophages exhibited significant differences irrespective of staging among cancer subtypes (Supplementary Tables 3–5). Here, CD163 is linked to breast carcinoma.