Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Tumour-associated macrophages linked to worse outcomes in dog mammary
By Raposo, T et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2014·Department of Veterinary Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Prognostic value of tumour-associated macrophages in canine mammary tumours.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that higher levels of certain immune cells, called tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), in malignant mammary tumors in dogs were linked to worse outcomes. Researchers looked at 59 tumors from dogs, some benign and some malignant, and discovered that those with malignant tumors had significantly more TAMs. The presence of these cells was also associated with skin ulceration and other tumor characteristics. This suggests that monitoring TAM levels could help predict how well a dog might do after a diagnosis of mammary cancer, and they might even become a target for new treatments in the future.
People also search for: dog mammary tumor prognosis · canine breast cancer treatment · what are tumor-associated macrophages in dogs
Abstract
Tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) have already been associated in human breast cancer to a poor prognosis. As a part of a tumoural microenvironment, TAMs have an important contribution influencing neoplastic progression. Hitherto, in canine mammary tumours (CMT) the prognostic value of TAMs has not been reported. In this study, MAC387 immunohistochemical expression was evaluated in 59 CMTs (20 benign and 39 malignant). The TAM value was significantly higher in malignant than benign CMT (P = 0.011). In malignant CMT, TAMs were associated with skin ulceration (P = 0.022), histological type (P = 0.044), nuclear grade (P = 0.031) and tubular differentiation (P = 0.042). The survival analysis revealed a significant association between tumours with higher levels of TAMs and the decrease in overall survival (P = 0.030). TAMs have proven to have a prognostic value. These findings suggest the future possibility of using TAMs as a novel therapeutic target in CMT.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22533625/