The Assistant Professor Dr. Iman Tariq Ali, Assistant Professor Dr. Maytham Abdelnabi, and researcher Ghasaq Muhammad Muhaibel in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Basrah published a study entitled (Correlation between PD-L1 expression, demographic and pathological characters in patients with breast cancer) in the Polish magazine Onkologia i Radioterapia, with an impact factor of 0.12 and within the fourth quartile of the Scopus classification.

The research included examining the association between serum levels of programmed cell death/apoptosis ligand with demographic and clinicopathological characteristics of breast cancer patients.
The research aimed to evaluate the serum levels of programmed cell death 1, programmed cell death ligand 1, interferon gamma and cancer antigen 3-15 in breast cancer patients and to determine the relationship between them. To prepare an approved base of serological markers that provide integrated data for cancer patients, and prepare them to benefit from immunotherapy, such as immune checkpoint data. and pro cytokines
Serum levels of programmed cell death 1, programmed cell death ligand 1, interferon gamma, and cancer antigen 3-15 were significantly associated with age, family history, menopausal status, tumor grade, tumor size, lymph node status, and lymphovascular invasion in the pre-treatment group.
The benefit of the research is collecting data on the levels of programmed cell death 1/programmed cell death ligand 1 and interferon gamma in breast cancer patients, which global and local studies lack. Therefore, the current study represents the first study in Iraq to address these immune checkpoints and to obtain a better understanding of the predictive value of programmed cell death protein 1/programmed cell death protein ligand 1 in breast cancer patients.