Small oral squamous cell carcinomas with nodal lymphogenic metastasis show increased infiltration of M2 polarized macrophages – An immunohistochemical analysis

Abstract Background In solid malignancies the influence of immunological parameters – especially of macrophages – on invasiveness, metastatic potential and prognosis has been shown. There are no studies quantitatively analysing the macrophage polarization in oral squamous cell carcinoma (oscc). The aim of this study was to correlate macrophage polarization in the epithelial and stromal compartment of oscc with histopathologic parameters. Methods T1 and T2 oscc samples ( n = 34) were used. Automated immunohistochemical staining detected CD68, CD11c, CD163 and MRC1 positive cells. All samples were completely digitalized using whole slide imaging and the number of stained cells per area was assessed quantitatively. Results Primary tumours with lymphogenic metastasis (N+) showed a significantly ( p