title: Macrophage Densities Correlated with CXC Chemokine Receptor 4 Expression and Related with Poor Survival in Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) and CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) have emerged as potential biomarkers in various human cancers. The aims of this study were to investigate the clinical characteristics of anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) patients according to the TAM numbers in the tumor tissue, and to evaluate the associations between CXCR4 expressions and macrophage densities in ATC tumor microenvironment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Total 14 ATC samples from thyroid tissue microarray were used. Immunohistochemical staining was performed using anti-CD163 and anti-CXCR4 antibodies. According to the immunoreactivity of CD163, all subjects were divided into two groups: low-CD163 (n=8) and high-CD163 (n=6) groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean diagnostic age was 65±7 years and the median tumor size was 4.3 cm, ranging 2.5 to 15 cm. Clinicopathological characteristics were not significantly different between low-CD163 and high-CD163 groups, while age of diagnosis was younger in high-CD163 group than that of low-CD163 group with marginal significance (56.9±5.5 years vs. 67.5±6.8 years, P=0.09). However, overall survival was significantly reduced in high-CD163 group (5.5 months [range, 1 to 10]) compared with low-CD163 groups (8.8 months [range, 6 to 121); log-rank test, P=0.0443). Moreover, high-CD163 group showed strong CXCR4 expressions in both cancer and stromal compartments, while low-CD163 group showed relatively weak, stromal-dominant CXCR4 expressions. Additionally, CD163 and CXCR4 expressions showed a strong positive correlation (γ²=0.432, P=0.013).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increased number of TAMs showed poor overall survival in ATC, suggesting TAMs are potentially a prognostic biomarker for ATC. CXCR4 expression was significantly correlated with CD163-positive TAM densities, which suggest the possible role of CXCR4 in TAM recruitments.
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Dae In
authors: DI
authors: Kim
authors: Department of Surgery, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Eunyoung
authors: E
authors: Kim
authors: Department of Pathology, Seoul Metropolitan Government Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. youngakim@gmail.com.
authors: Young A
authors: YA
authors: Kim
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.|Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. swchomd@gmail.com.
authors: Sun Wook
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7394-3830
authors: SW
authors: Cho
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Jung Ah
authors: JA
authors: Lim
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Young Joo
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3671-6364
authors: YJ
authors: Park
keywords: CD163; Receptors, CXCR4; Thyroid carcinoma, anaplastic; Tumor-associated macrophages