State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Cancer Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, 651 Dongfeng R E, 510060, Guangzhou, China.
J Transl Med. 2010 Feb 8;8:13. doi: 10.1186/1479-5876-8-13.
Although an abundance of evidence has indicated that tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are associated with a favorable prognosis in patients with colon cancer, it is still unknown how TAMs exert a protective effect. This study examined whether TAMs are involved in hepatic metastasis of colon cancer.
One hundred and sixty cases of pathologically-confirmed specimens were obtained from colon carcinoma patients with TNM stage IIIB and IV between January 1997 and July 2004 at the Cancer Center of Sun Yat-Sen University. The density of macrophages in the invasive front (CD68TFHotspot) was scored with an immunohistochemical assay. The relationship between the CD68TFHotspot and the clinicopathologic parameters, the potential of hepatic metastasis, and the 5-year survival rate were analyzed.
TAMs were associated with the incidence of hepatic metastasis and the 5-year survival rate in patients with colon cancers. Both univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that the CD68TFHotspot was independently prognostic of survival. A higher 5-year survival rate among patients with stage IIIB after radical resection occurred in patients with a higher macrophage infiltration in the invasive front (81.0%) than in those with a lower macrophage infiltration (48.6%). Most importantly, the CD68TFHotspot was associated with both the potential of hepatic metastasis and the interval between colon resection and the occurrence of hepatic metastasis.
This study showed evidence that TAMs infiltrated in the invasive front are associated with improvement in both hepatic metastasis and overall survival in colon cancer, implying that TAMs have protective potential in colon cancers and might serve as a novel therapeutic target.
尽管大量证据表明肿瘤相关巨噬细胞（TAMs）与结肠癌患者的预后良好相关，但 TAMs 如何发挥保护作用仍不清楚。本研究探讨了 TAMs 是否参与结肠癌的肝转移。
从 1997 年 1 月至 2004 年 7 月中山大学肿瘤防治中心经病理证实的 160 例 IIIB 期和 IV 期结肠癌患者的病理标本中获得。采用免疫组织化学法对巨噬细胞在侵袭前沿的密度（CD68TFHotspot）进行评分。分析 CD68TFHotspot 与临床病理参数、肝转移潜能和 5 年生存率的关系。
TAMs 与结肠癌患者的肝转移发生率和 5 年生存率有关。单因素和多因素分析均表明 CD68TFHotspot 是独立的生存预后因素。根治性切除术后 IIIB 期患者的 5 年生存率较高，其侵袭前沿的巨噬细胞浸润较高（81.0%），而巨噬细胞浸润较低的患者（48.6%）则较低。最重要的是，CD68TFHotspot 与肝转移潜能以及结肠癌切除与肝转移发生之间的间隔时间均有关。
本研究表明，浸润在侵袭前沿的 TAMs 与结肠癌的肝转移和总体生存率的改善有关，这表明 TAMs 在结肠癌中有保护作用，可能成为一个新的治疗靶点。
