Tumor-Associated CD204-Positive Macrophage Is a Prognostic Marker in Clinical Stage I Lung Adenocarcinoma

Abstract EN

Objective.

Macrophages are the dominant leukocytes in the tumor microenvironment.

Accumulating evidence revealed that CD204-positive (CD204+) tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are associated with the aggressive behavior of various cancers; however, the clinical, pathological, and prognostic associations of CD204+ TAMs with the subtype of lung adenocarcinoma have not been reported.

Methods.

Tissue microarray and immunohistochemistry were constructed from clinical stage I lung adenocarcinomas with radical surgical resection.

The intratumoral density of CD204+ cells was calculated using image analysis software for analyses.

Survival analyses were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models.

Results.

The intratumoral density of CD204 was correlated with T stage, nodal involvement, lymphovascular invasion, and cancer relapse after the surgery, but not with age, gender, or smoking history.

The density of CD204 in non-LPD was significantly higher than that in LPD.

The 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate of CD204 high-density group was significantly worse than that of CD204 low-density group.

Conclusions.

The expression of CD204 in TAMs is associated with the aggressiveness of lung adenocarcinoma.

Our results suggest that a specific immune microenvironment may be associated with the biological behavior of lung adenocarcinoma.