Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Tumor immune cells and prognosis in dog mammary cancer
By Monteiro, Lidianne Narducci et al.·Published in Research in veterinary science·2021·Laborató, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Clinical significance and prognostic role of tumor-associated macrophages infiltration according to histologic location in canine mammary carcinomas.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at 66 dogs with mammary tumors to see how certain immune cells, called tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), might affect their prognosis. The researchers found that higher counts of these cells in the tumors were linked to more advanced cancer stages and a greater chance of spreading to other parts of the body. Specifically, higher levels of these macrophages were associated with larger tumors and poorer survival rates. This suggests that counting these immune cells could help veterinarians predict how aggressive a dog's mammary cancer might be and guide treatment decisions.
People also search for: dog mammary tumor prognosis · canine breast cancer treatment · tumor-associated macrophages in dogs
Abstract
Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) have been involved in growth and metastases of human and canine mammary tumors. However, the prognostic importance of TAM specific location in canine mammary tumors (CMT) was not evaluated. In this study, we evaluated the potential role of TAMs in specific histologic locations - intratumoral (iTAM) and stromal (sTAM), as well as total macrophage (tTAM) counts - as prognostic indicators in CMT. Clinicopathologic data from 66 animals with mammary carcinoma and their tumors were used in this study. Samples were stained with anti-macrophage antibody for subsequent TAM count. High levels of iTAM, sTAM, and tTAM were related with advanced clinical stage and vascular invasion. Additionally, tTAM revealed a relation with larger tumor size, while high levels of sTAM and tTAM were also correlated with node metastasis and a poor prognosis based on survival analysis. CMT with aggressive features can reveal higher TAM counts. TAMs are associated with vascular invasion and nodal metastasis, and sTAM and tTAM counts are correlated with overall survival, suggesting they could be used as prognostic indicators in canine mammary carcinomas.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33097278/