Infiltrating macrophage count: a significant predictor for the progression and prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinomas in Taiwan.

Abstract

Infiltrating macrophage count (IMC) is found to correlate with the progression and prognosis of many human cancers. This study used immunohistochemistry to measure the IMC (macrophages/high-power field [HPF]) in 92 specimens of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). A significantly increased IMC was found in OSCCs with larger tumor size, positive lymph node metastasis, more advanced clinical stages, or recurrence (all ps < .05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis found that OSCC patients with IMC >196 macrophages/HPF had a significantly shorter disease-free (p = .001, log-rank test) or overall survival (p < .001, log-rank test) than OSCC patients with IMC <196 macrophages/HPF. Multivariate Cox regression analyses showed that IMC >196 macrophages/HPF was an independent predictor for poor disease-free (p = .005) and overall survival of patients with OSCC (p = .015). The IMC can predict the progression and prognosis of OSCCs in Taiwan.