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Tumor-infiltrating macrophages can predict favorable prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma after resection

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Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the prognostic value of tumor-associated macrophages (TAM), individually or synergistically with CD45RO + memory T cells (TM), in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients following resection.

Methods

The infiltration of TAM and TM was assessed by immunohistochemistry in tissue microarray containing 302 HCC specimens. Correlations between TAM/TM infiltration and clinicopathologic features, disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were statistically analyzed.

Results

High TAM infiltration was associated with both improved DFS (P = 0.0021) and OS (P = 0.0481). Multivariate analysis identified TAM infiltration as independent prognostic factor for DFS (P = 0.004) and OS (P = 0.049). A second analysis clarified the synergistic effect of TAM&TM infiltration for DFS (P = 0.004) and OS (P = 0.040).

Conclusions

Both TAM infiltration alone and concomitant infiltration of TAM&TM are associated with improved DFS/OS, suggesting that TAM could protect HCC patients from recurrence/metastasis and prolong survival by distinct mechanisms.

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Abbreviations

HCC:

Hepatocellular carcinoma

TAM:

Tumor-associated macrophages

TM :

CD45RO + T cell

TNM:

Tumor-node-metastasis

TACE:

Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization

OS:

Overall survival

DFS:

Disease-free survival

AFP:

Alpha-fetoprotein

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Yuan Ji and Dr. Hai-Ying Zeng for their expertise in immunohistochemistry. We also thank Shanghai Biochip Co., Ltd. for help in tissue microarrays construction. The key project was supported by the science and technology program of the Chinese Ministry of Education (no. 107039), National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 30700794).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Liver Cancer Institute, Zhong Shan Hospital and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Shanghai Medical School, Fudan University, 136 Yi Xue Yuan Road, 200032, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Yi-Wei Li, Shuang-Jian Qiu, Jia Fan, Qiang Gao, Jian Zhou, Yong-Sheng Xiao, Yang Xu, Xiao-Ying Wang, Jian Sun & Xiao-Wu Huang

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  1. Yi-Wei Li
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  2. Shuang-Jian Qiu
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  3. Jia Fan
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Correspondence to Jia Fan.

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This is an original work by all the authors and no previous presentations, reports, or publications contain any material that appears in the article.

Yi-Wei Li and Shuang-Jian Qiu contributed equally to this work.

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Li, YW., Qiu, SJ., Fan, J. et al. Tumor-infiltrating macrophages can predict favorable prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma after resection. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 135, 439–449 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-008-0469-0

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