The prognostic implications of macrophages expressing proliferating cell nuclear antigen in breast cancer depend on immune context.

ABSTRACT: Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) are recruited from the circulation to the tumor site, and can undergo a spectrum of phenotypic changes, with two contrasting activation states described in the literature: the M1 and M2 phenotypes. We previously identified a population of TAMs that express proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and are associated with high grade, hormone receptor negative breast cancers and poor outcomes. In the present exploratory study we again found that high PCNA(+) TAM counts in pre-treatment tumor biopsies (102 invasive breast cancer cases from the I-SPY 1 Trial, a prospective neoadjuvant trial with serial core biopsies and gene array data) were associated with high grade, hormone receptor negativity, and decreased recurrence free survival. We explored the assoc

SUBMITTER: Campbell MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3812150 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature