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Published in: BMC Cancer 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Research article

The peripheral monocyte count is associated with the density of tumor-associated macrophages in the tumor microenvironment of colorectal cancer: a retrospective study

Authors: Masatsune Shibutani, Kiyoshi Maeda, Hisashi Nagahara, Tatsunari Fukuoka, Shigetomi Nakao, Shinji Matsutani, Kosei Hirakawa, Masaichi Ohira

Published in: BMC Cancer | Issue 1/2017

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Abstract

Background

Inflammation is widely recognized to play an important role in cancer progression, and the peripheral monocyte count has been reported to correlate with the prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer. This is based on the hypothesis that the peripheral monocyte level and the density of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in the cancer microenvironment correlate with each other. However, the influence of TAMs on the prognosis and the correlation between the peripheral monocyte count and the density of TAMs have not yet been elucidated.

Methods

A total of 168 patients with stage II/III colorectal cancer were enrolled in this study. Preoperative blood samples were obtained at the time of the diagnosis before surgery. The expression of TAMs in the cancer microenvironment was assessed by immunohistochemistry.

Results

The progression-free and overall survival rate were significantly worse in the high-TAMs group than in the low-TAMs group (p = 0.0012 and p = 0.0207, respectively). The peripheral monocyte count was significantly associated with the number of TAMs (correlation coefficients: 0.202, p = 0.047).

Conclusions

The peripheral monocyte count was associated with the density of the TAMs, which created a microenvironment favorable for cancer development and were correlated with a poor prognosis. Therefore, the peripheral monocyte count is a useful prognostic marker reflecting the status of the tumor microenvironment.
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Metadata
Title
The peripheral monocyte count is associated with the density of tumor-associated macrophages in the tumor microenvironment of colorectal cancer: a retrospective study
Authors
Masatsune Shibutani
Kiyoshi Maeda
Hisashi Nagahara
Tatsunari Fukuoka
Shigetomi Nakao
Shinji Matsutani
Kosei Hirakawa
Masaichi Ohira
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Cancer / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2407
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-017-3395-1

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