COVID-19 and Breast Cancer Cross-Talk: Exploring the Role of Tumor-Associated Macrophages | ||
| SECI Oncology Journal | ||
| Volume 13, Issue 4, October 2025, Pages 262-272 PDF (1.05 M) | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/secioj.2025.459085 | ||
| Abstract | ||
| This study aimed to assess the prognostic significance of CD163+ tumor- associated macrophages (TAMs) density and distribution in breast cancer (BC) patients during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to pre-pandemic periods. A retrospective evaluation was conducted on two groups of BC patients: the study group (during the COVID-19 pandemic, n = 80) and the control group (pre- pandemic, n = 80). Immunohistochemistry was performed for CD163+. The density of CD163+ TAMs was evaluated in intra-tumoral and peri-tumoral areas. A significant association was observed between adverse clinicopathologic parameters and COVID-19-positive patients with poor survival rates. A statistically significant correlation was detected between most unfavorable clinicopathological characteristics and a high density of CD163+ TAMs, particularly intra-tumoral density. Additionally, a high density of intra-tumoral CD163+ TAMs was identified as an independent predictor of shortened overall survival in multivariate analysis (p = 0.014). This study suggested that alterations in the tumor microenvironment of BC may be linked to COVID-19 infection. Moreover, an increased density of TAMs, particularly in intra-tumoral areas, may contribute to tumor burden by promoting tumor progression. These findings underscore the need to consider both the histologic location and infiltration density of TAMs in BC as predictive biomarkers. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| COVID-19; Breast cancer; Prognosis; CD163+; Tumor-associated macrophages | ||
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