Key Takeaways
- CRC patient survival correlates with the presence or absence of macrophage biomarkers CD68, CD163, and a lack of PD-L1.
- Lower levels of ‘M1/anti-tumor’ CD68+ or CD68+CD163– cells correlate with increased survival. Higher levels of ‘M2/pro-tumor’ CD163+ cells showed minimal correlation to survival.
- Based on these observations, additional biomarkers are needed to better characterize macrophage phenotypes and understand their role in the tumor microenvironment.