Expression of tumor-associated macrophages and vascular endothelial growth factor correlates with poor prognosis of peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified.

To elucidate the expression of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS), and their correlation with patient clinical characteristics and overall survival (OS), immunohistochemistry stains for CD68 and VEGF were applied to 38 tissue specimens of PTCL-NOS. The CD68+ cell content and VEGF-positive rates were significantly higher in PTCL-NOS tissues (p < 0.05). TAMs were significantly related to bone marrow invasion, international prognostic index (IPI) score, and response to treatment (p < 0.05). The 2-year OS of the high-TAMs-expression group (>50/hpf) was 22.2%, and that of the low-TAMs-expression group (<50/hpf) was 52.8% (p < 0.05). The expression of VEGF was closely related to tumor staging, bone marrow invasion, and IPI score (p < 0.05). The 2-year OS of the VEGF-positive group was 25.4%, and that of the VEGF-negative group was 83.3% (p < 0.01). Therefore, TAMs and VEGF, which were significantly correlated to prognosis of the disease, may be involved in the tumorigenesis, progression, invasion, and angiogenesis of PTCL-NOS.