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High numbers of macrophages, especially M2‐like ( CD 163‐positive), correlate with hyaluronan accumulation and poor outcome in breast cancer
Author(s) -
Tiainen Satu,
Tumelius Ritva,
Rilla Kirsi,
Hämäläinen Kirsi,
Tammi Markku,
Tammi Raija,
Kosma VeliMatti,
Oikari Sanna,
Auvinen Päivi
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
histopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.626
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1365-2559
pISSN - 0309-0167
DOI - 10.1111/his.12607
Subject(s) - breast cancer , infiltration (hvac) , medicine , oncology , cancer , pathology , cancer research , physics , thermodynamics
Aims High amounts of tumour‐associated macrophages ( TAM s) and hyaluronan ( HA ) correlate with tumour aggressiveness in breast cancer, but the relationship between these parameters is unclear. The aim of this study was to assay the numbers of TAM s in 278 human breast cancer cases, and their correlations with HA ‐related factors, clinical variables, and outcome. Methods and results The immunoreactivities for CD 163 and CD 68 were considered as indicators for M2‐like and all TAM s, respectively. The numbers of TAM s were counted in at least four hot spots, and averaged to represent the numbers of TAM s in each section. In the statistical analyses, the numbers were graded as either low or high according to the median. High numbers of TAM s correlated with a high tumour HA content, HA synthases, CD 44 positivity, and poor outcome. The number of CD 163‐positive cells represented a strong independent prognostic factor. There was also a significant correlation between obesity and a high number of CD 163‐positive cells. Conclusions Concurrent increases in TAM s and HA in breast cancer indicate that the accumulation of HA facilitates macrophage infiltration and inflammatory responses during human breast cancer progression.