A Study On The Correlation Between M2 Tumor-associated Macrophage Numbers And Squamous Cell Carcinoma Invasion Patterns Of The Cervix

Objective Cervical cancer(CC)is one of the most common cancers in women—in fact,the second-most common cancer in women globally—and produces the third-highest mortality rate with respect to female malignancies.In addition,although it is also the second-most common cause of death from cancer in developing countries,there is still a lack of satisfactory treatment for CC currently.Squamous cell carcinoma(SCC)accounts for 75–80% of all cervical cancers.The invasion of cervical cancer determines its prognosis.Given the prevalence of SCC and the potentially great harm serious psychological and financial burdens,we have an urgent need to elucidate its mechanism(s)underlying SCC invasion,so as to provide a scientific basis for new therapeutic approaches to the disease.Immunohistochemical study of a wide variety of tumor tissues in humans demonstrated that the vast majority of cancer patients with high M2 counts had poor clinical outcomes.For these reasons,researchers should pay special attention to M2 counts among TAM in studies of the TME(Tumor micro-environment,TME).A study on the correlation between M2 tumor-associated macrophages(TAM)and the patterns of invasion in cervical squamous cell carcinoma tissues was performed.Methods Immunohistochemical method was used to identify the CD163-positive cells in a cervical SCC tissue microarray(The diameter of tissue point was 1.5mm and the thickness of tissue section was 5?m),including 109 cases of cervical SCC and 45 cases of non-tumorous cervical control tissue.The patterns of invasion in 109 cases of cervical SCC were divided into pushing border pattern(PBP)and diffuse infiltration pattern(DIP)groups.Results(1)Mean values of intratumoral TAM M2 in cervical SCC(35.8±28.3)and intraepithelial TAM M2(1.2±3.6)in non-tumorous cervical tissues were significantly different(P=0.000);(2)Mean values of peritumoral TAM M2 in cervical SCC(44.7±29.4)and in non-tumorous cervical tissues(10.4±9.2)were significantly different(P = 0.000);(3)Comparison of intratumoral TAM M2 in PBP group(20.5±19.5)with that in DIP group(37.7±28.7),the mean numbers of TAM M2 were significantly different(P=0.046);(4)Comparison of peritumoral TAM M2 in PBP group(25.1±18.0)with that in DIP group(47.1±29.7),the mean numbers of TAM M2 were significantly different(P=0.002).Conclusions(1)Our study was the first to identify the close relationship between TAM M2 and invasion patterns of cervical SCC.(2)TAM M2 infiltration in diffuse infiltration pattern was significantly obvious than in pushing border pattern.The finding provided not only a new basis for the mechanism of cervical SCC progression,but also scientific basis for targeted immunotherapy of cervical SCC.