Cancer‐associated fibroblast and <scp>M</scp>2 macrophage markers together predict outcome in colorectal cancer patients

Abstract

Tumor epithelial cells within a tumor coexist with a complex microenvironment in which a variety of interactions between its various components determine the behavior of the primary tumors. Cancer‐associated fibroblasts ( CAF ) and M 2 macrophages, characterized by high expression of different markers, including α‐ SMA , FSP 1 and FAP , or CD 163 and DCSIGN , respectively, are involved in the malignancy of different tumors. In the present study, expression of the above markers in CAF and M 2 macrophages was analyzed using RT ‐ PCR and immunohistochemistry in the normal mucosa and tumor tissue from a cohort of 289 colorectal cancer patients. Expression of CAF and M 2 markers is associated with the clinical outcome of colorectal cancer patients. Moreover, the combination of CAF and M 2 markers identifies three groups of patients with clear differences in the progression of the disease. This combined variable could be a decisive factor in the survival of advanced‐stage patients. Taken together, these analyses demonstrate the prognostic involvement of interrelationships between DCSIGN , CD 163, α‐ SMA , FSP 1 and FAP markers in the survival of colon cancer patients.