Our study has the following clinical implications: (i) Breast cancer treatment-naïve patients with high CD8 + , CD8 + Ki67 + , CD8 + TCF1 + , PD-L1 score are likely to experience improved DFS; in contrast, it is interesting to note despite the fact that high CD163 + cell infiltration per se was associated with decreased DFS, the patients whose tumors had a high CD163 + PD-L1 + cell infiltration presented with an improved DFS (Figs. 3, 4 and 5, Table 1). This evidence concerns the gene CD163 and breast cancer.