J Pathol Transl Med.  2015 Jul;49(4):318-324. 10.4132/jptm.2015.06.01.

Cancers with Higher Density of Tumor-Associated Macrophages Were Associated with Poor Survival Rates

• Jung KY
• Cho SW
• Kim YA
• Kim D
• Oh BC
• Park DJ
• Park YJ

• KMID: 2151141
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4132/jptm.2015.06.01

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Macrophages are a component of a tumor's microenvironment and have various roles in tumor progression and metastasis. This study evaluated the relationships between tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) density and clinical outcomes in 14 different types of human cancers.
METHODS
We investigated TAM density in human tissue microarray sections from 14 different types of human cancers (n = 266) and normal thyroid, lung, and breast tissues (n = 22). The five-year survival rates of each cancer were obtained from the 2011 Korea Central Cancer Registry.
RESULTS
Among 13 human cancers, excluding thyroid cancer, pancreas, lung, and gallbladder cancers had the highest density of CD163-positive macrophages (7.0+/-3.5%, 6.9+/-7.4%, and 6.9 +/- 5.5%, respectively). The five-year relative survival rates of these cancers (pancreas, 8.7%; lung, 20.7%; gallbladder, 27.5%) were lower than those of other cancers. The histological subtypes in thyroid cancer exhibited significantly different CD163-positive macrophages densities (papillary, 1.8 +/- 1.6% vs anaplastic, 22.9 +/- 17.1%; p < .001), but no significant difference between histological subtypes was detected in lung and breast cancers. Moreover, there was no significant difference in CD163-positive macrophages densities among the TNM stages in lung, breast, and thyroid cancers.
CONCLUSIONS
Cancers with higher TAM densities (pancreas, lung, anaplastic thyroid, and gallbladder) were associated with poor survival rate.

Keyword

Tumor-associated macrophage; Prognosis; Neoplasms

MeSH Terms

Breast
Gallbladder
Gallbladder Neoplasms
Humans
Korea
Lung
Macrophages*
Neoplasm Metastasis
Pancreas
Prognosis
Survival Rate*
Thyroid Gland
Thyroid Neoplasms

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1. Immunohistochemical staining for CD163 in breast cancer. Representative CD163 staining in breast cancer. TAM density was measured by averaging the CD163-positive area (%) of five different sites in each tissue (A). The positive IHC staining area (%) was separated and calculated using the Image J color deconvolution plugin (B, C).

• 

  Fig. 2. CD163-positive macrophage densities and five-year survival rates in 14 different types of human cancers. Left axis and bar graphs represent the average CD163-positive area (%) as mean ± standard error. Right axis and star-shaped markers represent the five-year overall survival (OS, %) obtained from the 2011 Annual Report of Cancer Statistics in Korea. PTC, papillary thyroid cancer; GB, gallbladder; ATC, anaplastic thyroid cancer; NA, not acquired.

• 

  Fig. 3. The CD163-positive macrophage densities of normal tissue, papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) and anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC).

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