In this issue

Excerpt

This is the first issue of a new year for the journal and its readers, and the editorial team wishes its readers as much pleasure taking in the journal’s content as it has in preparing the content. The issue opens with a very timely topic: tumor microenvironment and its impact on tumor behavior. Heiskala et al. (https://​doi.​org/​10.​1007/​s00428-018-2461-7) studied this in breast cancer, focusing on tumor associated M2 macrophages, which favor tumor cell survival and proliferation and are pro-metastatic. Immunohistochemistry was applied to identify tumor associated macrophages as well as stromal and tumor cells expressing CCL2, the chemokine instrumental in recruitment and maturation of macrophages, in three patient cohorts with early, intermediate and late relapse. Tumor associated macrophages were found more around than in the tumors and more abundantly in recurrent than in primary lesions. This was accompanied by a higher number of cells expressing CCL2. Major finding was the association between early relapse and abundance of CCL2 expressing cells along with a high density of tumor associated macrophages. The authors suggest that early relapse might be countered by an anti-CCL2 approach, a notion which merits to be further explored. …