Macrophages as independent prognostic factors in small T1 breast cancers.
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death by cancer in women in             the United States. The occurrence of high numbers of macrophages in the tumor             stroma has been associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis in breast             and other solid malignancies. However, macrophage numbers in tumors have not been             validated as a prognostic factor in clinical practice. The present analysis was             designed as a pilot study aimed at determining whether the presence of CD68+ macrophages             is an independent prognostic factor in small T1 estrogen receptor (ER)+ breast             cancers across three different ethnic groups, i.e. African-American, Latina and             Caucasian women. A retrospective pilot analysis of 30 T1 breast cancer cases encompassing             these three ethnic groups was carried out. African-American and Latina women present             with less incidence but more aggressive breast cancer disease and, therefore,             proportionally higher death rates. Using immuno-histochemistry, we sought to identify             whether there was any association between the presence and density of CD68+ macrophages             and standard prognostic markers with overall survival in these groups. Our data             revealed that overall survival did not differ significantly for the occurrence             or density of CD68+ macrophages in T1 ER+ tumors. There were also no significant             differences in overall survival for the occurrence of CD68+ macrophages across             ethnicities, although macrophage numbers were significantly higher in tumors from             African-American and Latina than in Caucasian patients. Importantly, but not surprisingly,             the absence of the progesterone receptor was associated very strongly with decreased             overall survival. This pilot project shows that CD68+ macrophages are not pivotal             in determining tumor prognosis in early T1 breast cancers. New studies are presently             being conducted to assess the value of different macrophage markers and macrophage             activation profiles as prognostic factors in breast cancers of different clinical             stages, using a larger number of patients among these three different ethnicities.
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA.
Roberto
R
Carrio
Tulay
T
Koru-Sengul
Feng
F
Miao
Stefan
S
Glück
Omar
O
Lopez
Yamil
Y
Selman
Consuelo
C
Alvarez
Clara
C
Milikowski
Carmen
C
Gomez
Merce
M
Jorda
Mehrad
M
Nadji
Marta
M
Torroella-Kouri
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000378:metabolism*; D015214:Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic / Q000378:metabolism*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008264:Macrophages / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011379:Prognosis; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone / Q000378:metabolism*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000097382:CD68 Molecule
D015703:Antigens, CD; D015214:Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone; C067980:CD68 antigen, human; D000097382:CD68 Molecule