Macrophage infiltration and its prognostic implications in breast cancer: The relationship with VEGF expression and microvessel density
Stromal cells, within and around the tumor, as well as tumor cells are both involved in angiogenesis which is an important step in tumor growth and metastasis. Among such stromal cells, macrophages are known to play various roles in tumor angiogenesis and have thus been called tumor-associated
macrophages (TAMs). The TAM density, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and the microvessel density (MVD) were immunohistochemically evaluated in 249 paraffin-embedded sections of invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast. The TAM density and MVD were assessed as the average
density of three hot spots at a magnification of x400 and x200, respectively. The TAM density showed a significant correlation with both the VEGF expression and MVD, while a significant correlation was also found between the VEGF expression and MVD. The TAM density was also associated with
the nuclear grade, estrogen receptor status and MIB-1 count. Patients with a high TAM density had a significantly (p=0.0025) worse disease-free survival (DFS) prognosis than those with a low TAM density, while univariate analyses also indicated both the MVD (p<0.0001) and VEGF expression
(p=0.0152) to be prognostic factors for DFS. A multivariate analysis indicated MVD (p=0.0057), as well as lymph node metastasis and the MIB-1 count, to be independently significant prognostic factors for DFS. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated a close association between TAM infiltration
and both the VEGF expression and MVD. The prognostic significance of MVD was the strongest among these three factors in breast cancer. These findings suggested that the prognostic implications of TAM infiltration are due to the involvement of TAMs in tumor angiogenesis.
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: Department of Breast Surgery, Beppu Medical Center, 1473 Oaza-Uchikamado, Beppu 874-0011, Japan., Email: [email protected]
Publication date: 01 January 2005
- Oncology Reports is a monthly, peer-reviewed journal devoted to the publication of high quality original studies and reviews concerning a broad and comprehensive view of fundamental and applied research in oncology, focusing on carcinogenesis, metastasis and epidemiology.
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