RELATIONSHIP OF IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL EXPRESSION OF CD86/CD163 POSITIVE INTRATUMORAL MACROPHAGES WITH PROGNOSIS OF PANCREATIC DUCTAL ADENOCARCINOMA.

Recent studies have shown an association of the number of tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) with the prognosis and treatment outcomes of ductal pancreatic adenocarcinoma. This study aimed to examine the correlation between CD86 and CD163 macrophage expression and clinical-pathological characteristics of the disease in patients operated on for pancreatic carcinoma. A retrospective research was conducted in which the archival materials of the Ljudevit Jurak Department of Pathology, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center were used together with all relevant patient clinical data obtained from the Hospital Information System on 76 patients operated on for pancreatic adenocarcinoma. In our study, the number of CD86 macrophages and the CD86/CD163 ratio showed a statistically significant correlation with increasing T and N stages of the disease. The number of CD163 macrophages did not show a statistically significant correlation with the mentioned variables. These results indicated that in our clinical conditions, proinflammatory (M1) macrophages were more expressed in locally advanced tumor stages with worse long-term prognoses. In conclusion, TAMs could be a valid prognostic marker or even a target for therapeutic agents but more studies will be needed to fully comprehend the impact of M1/M2 differentiation.