title: Expression of CD68+ tumor-associated macrophages in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and its relation to prognosis.
abstract: Tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) have been ascribed both pro- and anti-tumor properties, but the majority of clinical cancer studies have shown that the presence of a high number of TAM is related to poor prognosis, suggesting that TAM predominantly exert pro-tumoral activity. The prognostic role of TAM in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), however, is so far unknown. Therefore, TAM were immunohistochemically stained with a CD68 antibody in a retrospective, population-based study including 176 DLBCL patients treated with curative intent. With the exception that patients >60 years of age had a larger number of CD68+ cells (1143 vs 1018 cells/mm2; P = 0.05), no significant differences were found between the number of CD68+ cells and other clinical factors. Similarly, germinal center B-cell (GCB)/non-GCB immunophenotype or low/high Ki-67 percentage were not associated with CD68 expression. Finally, no significant correlation was found between the number of CD68+ cells and progression-free survival (P = 0.34) or overall survival (P = 0.94). These data indicate that the pro-tumor effect of TAM has limited clinical relevance in DLBCL patients, which could imply that therapeutic strategies aimed at enhancing their anti-tumor activity are of continuous clinical interest.
authors.affiliation: Section of Haematology and Coagulation, Department of Internal Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Sverker
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hasselblom
authors.forename: Ulrika
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Hansson
authors.forename: Margret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sigurdardottir
authors.forename: Herman
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nilsson-Ehle
authors.forename: Börje
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ridell
authors.forename: Per-Ola
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Andersson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000378:metabolism*; D015214:Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic / Q000378:metabolism*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D002452:Cell Count; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D018858:Germinal Center / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D016403:Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D000097382:CD68 Molecule
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D015214:Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; C067980:CD68 antigen, human; D000097382:CD68 Molecule