SynthesisModern pathology : an official journal of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, Inc2020
Prognostic value of macrophage polarization markers in epithelial neoplasms and melanoma. A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Modern pathology : an official journal of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, Inc, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers.
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Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 67 citations in OpenAlex.
- A novel secretory protein, circVEGFC-182aa, promotes esophageal squamous cell carcinoma progression by inducing M2 polarization of tumor-associated macrophages via regulating the TGF-β pathway.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- CD40 Agonism in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Expression, Biology, and Therapeutic Targeting.Cancers · 2026Review
- The M1 Paradox: Pro-Tumorigenic Effect of Macrophage Cytotoxicity in Prostate Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Rodent monocyte-derived macrophages do not express CD163: Comparative analysis using macrophages from living boreoeutherians.Developmental dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists · 2026Article
- Genomic and transcriptomic analyses of melanoma in Japanese patients reveal candidate biomarkers for immune checkpoint inhibitor responders.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- The mechanism of PKM2/HIF-1α axis polarizing TAMs by upregulating glucose-serine metabolism to promote melanoma progression.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- STARD3NL as a prognostic marker related to an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- Reimagining AHR in Cancer: From Environmental Sensor to Novel Immunomodulatory Therapeutic Target.International journal of biological sciences · 2026Review
- Extracellular vesicles derived from pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages induce an inflammatory and invasive phenotype in melanoma cells.Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2025Article
- FOXP3 Polymorphism and Upregulation of the CXCL12-CXCR4-SNAIL Axis with High Infiltration of M2TAM by STAT3/NFKB Pathways Influence the Survival of Cervical Cancer Patients.Advanced biology · 2025Article
- CXCL8 mediates macrophage migration in canine oral malignant melanoma.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Determining a Stability Prognostic Panel for 636 Patients With Melanoma Using a Machine Learning Computational Framework.Experimental dermatology · 2025Article
- Identification of the immune subtypes associated with the prognosis and immunotherapy of metastatic melanoma.Translational cancer research · 2025Article
- Immunological features of clear-cell renal-cell carcinoma and resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors.Nature reviews. Nephrology · 2025Review
- Davanat-Mimetic Galactomannan and Its Sulfated Derivative: Structure and Antitumor Effects against Melanoma.Biomacromolecules · 2025Article
- Regulation and Function of Tumor-Associated Macrophages (TAMs) in Colorectal Cancer (CRC): The Role of the SRIF System in Macrophage Regulation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Deep profiling of gene expression across 18 human cancers.Nature biomedical engineering · 2025Article
- Soluble CD206 in metastatic renal cell carcinoma: Relation to clinical-biochemical parameters and patient outcome.International journal of cancer · 2025Article
- The role of macrophage polarization in ovarian cancer: from molecular mechanism to therapeutic potentials.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Translating genetics into tissue: inflammatory cytokine-producing TAMs and PD-L1 tumor expression as poor prognosis factors in cutaneous melanoma.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Macrophage polarization is relevant for tumor biology. M2 polarized macrophages favor tumor growth and survival, while M1 macrophages support tumor destruction and antigen presentation. Markers identifying M1/M2 polarization are a subject of debate. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the association of proposed macrophage markers with prognosis across epithelial tumors and melanoma. The Medline search engine was used and 195 articles were recovered for full review. Only articles which measured markers using immunohistochemistry or immunofluorescence and had overall survival (OS) as the primary endpoint were included. One hundred and thirteen articles were finally accepted for analysis. CD68 was associated with worse survival across tumors (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.24, 95% CI = 1.11-1.37). Tumor anatomical location influenced this association. Colorectal tumors showed an inverse association between CD68 and OS in contrast to the rest of cancer types (HR = 0.56 vs. 1.34). The approach taken to measure CD68 had an impact on prognosis; when macrophages were measured at the tumor invasion front prognosis was more favorable than when they were measured intratumorally (HR = 0.94 vs. 1.4). CD163, CD204, and CD206 showed a robust association with worse OS (HR = 1.63, 1.95, 1.65, respectively). Tumors arising in the lung and the liver showed a weaker association between CD163 and OS as compared with other locations (β = -0.5401 for the lung and -0.5940 for the liver compared with other anatomical locations). The counting strategy also had an impact on CD163 association with OS, with hot-spot counting having higher HRs compared with averaging macrophage counts across spots or absolute cell counting (β = -0.4678). In conclusion, proposed M2 markers are associated with worse survival across epithelial tumors and melanoma. The anatomical origin of tumors influences this association. The compartment where the macrophages were scored and counting strategy influenced the association with OS of CD68 and CD163, respectively.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.