title: Elevated PCNA+ tumor-associated macrophages in breast cancer are associated with early recurrence and non-Caucasian ethnicity.
abstract: African American and Hispanic women develop more triple negative breast cancer at younger ages than Caucasian women. The frequently observed association between race and socioeconomic status (SES) has confounded our understanding of the outcomes disparities seen in these groups. Given the association between inflammatory cells and high-grade, triple negative tumors, we sought to investigate whether differences in the presence of these cells varies by race. We evaluated breast tumor specimens for the presence PCNA+ tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in consecutive cases from a county hospital serving primarily un- or under-insured patients. All patients in this cohort had elevated PCNA + TAM levels. Higher PCNA + TAM counts were associated with hormone receptor (HR) negative tumors and non-Caucasian ethnicity. Hispanic women specifically had significantly higher PCNA + TAM counts than Caucasian patients and shorter disease-free survival. These findings implicate immune function in the development of aggressive breast cancer and suggest a possible link between SES and the inflammatory response.
authors: University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors: Rita A
authors: RA
authors: Mukhtar
authors: Amy P
authors: AP
authors: Moore
authors: Onouwem
authors: O
authors: Nseyo
authors: Frederick L
authors: FL
authors: Baehner
authors: Alfred
authors: A
authors: Au
authors: Dan H
authors: DH
authors: Moore
authors: Patrick
authors: P
authors: Twomey
authors: Michael J
authors: MJ
authors: Campbell
authors: Laura J
authors: LJ
authors: Esserman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D002452:Cell Count; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008264:Macrophages / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen / Q000378:metabolism*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D014481:United States; D044465:White People
chemical_list: D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen