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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: ERC-08-0036v1 15/4/1069    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Ryder, M. Articles by Fagin, J. A PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ryder, M. Articles by Fagin, J. A

¹ Endocrinology Service, Department of Medicine² Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program³ Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, Box 296, New York, New York 10021, USA

(Correspondence should be addressed to M Ryder; Email: ryderm{at}mskcc.org)

Thyroid cancers are infiltrated with tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), yet their role in cancer progression is not known. The objectives of this study were to characterize the density of TAMs in well-differentiated (WDTC), poorly differentiated (PDTC), and anaplastic thyroid cancers (ATC) and to correlate TAM density with clinicopathologic parameters. Immunohistochemistry was performed on tissue microarray sections from WDTC (n=33), PDTC (n=37), and ATC (n=20) using macrophage-specific markers. Electronic medical records were used to gather clinical and pathologic data. Follow-up information of PDTC patients was available for 0–12 years. In total, 9 out of 33 WDTC (27%), 20 out of 37 PDTC (54%), and 19 out of 20 ATC (95%) had an increased density of CD68⁺ TAMs (10 per 0.28 mm²; WDTC versus PDTC, P=0.03; WDTC versus ATC, P<0.0001; PDTC versus ATC, P<0.002). Increased TAMs in PDTC was associated with capsular invasion (P=0.034), extrathyroidal extension (P=0.009), and decreased cancer-related survival (P=0.009) compared with PDTC with a low density of TAMs. In conclusion, the density of TAMs is increased in advanced thyroid cancers. The presence of a high density of TAMs in PDTC correlates with invasion and decreased cancer-related survival. These results suggest that TAMs may facilitate tumor progression. As novel therapies directed against thyroid tumor cell-specific targets are being tested, the potential role of TAMs as potential modulators of the thyroid cancer behavior will need to be considered.