title: The Clinical Significance of CD169-Positive Lymph Node Macrophage in Patients with Breast Cancer.
abstract: The immune status of patients can impact on the clinical course of cancer. Lymph node (LN) macrophages play critical roles in anti-cancer immunity via the activation of cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs). In this study, the prognostic significance of CD169+ LN macrophages was examined in patients with breast cancer. For this purpose the number of CD169+ cells and their ratio relative to total macrophages (CD68+) in regional LNs (RLNs), as well as the number of CD8+ CTLs in tumor tissues, were investigated using immunohistochemistry of paraffin-embedded tissue samples from 146 patients with breast cancer. The association of these data with clinicopathological factors was then analyzed. The number of cells positive for the pan-macrophage marker CD68 remained relatively uniform, while the number of CD169+ cells varied across all cases. Moreover, a high density of CD169+ cells correlated with early clinical stage and no LN metastasis, while a higher CD169+ to CD68+ ratio was significantly associated with small tumor size and a low Ki-67+ rate. There was also a significant correlation between the number of CD8+ CTLs and that of CD169+ macrophages in high grade breast cancer cases with a Ki-67 index greater than 40%. However, neither the density nor the ratio of CD169+ cells, nor the density of CD8+ CTLs, were associated with relapse-free survival, distant relapse-free survival, or breast cancer-specific survival. These findings suggest that CD169+ macrophages in RLNs might be a useful marker for assessing clinical stage, including LN states, in patients with breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Pathology Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shiota
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Pathology Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miyasato
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Pathology Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohnishi
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular-Targeting Therapy for Breast Cancer, Kumamoto University Hospital, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Mutsuko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamamoto-Ibusuki
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Hirotaka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iwase
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Pathology Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Motohiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takeya
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Pathology Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Komohara
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D063267:Sialic Acid Binding Ig-like Lectin 1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D047368:Tumor Burden; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D063267:Sialic Acid Binding Ig-like Lectin 1