The tumor infiltrating CD8+:FOXP3+ cell ratio may be a predictive marker of disease-free survival in patients with colorectal cancer, according to a recent study.
A team at Kyushu University, Japan analyzed the relationships of intratumoral CD8+ T cells and FOXP3+ cells with traditional pathological measurements for surgically resected specimens from 95 patients with primary colorectal cancer.
The researchers did not detect any correlation between the number of intratumoral CD8+ T cells with any pathological parameter; however, lymph-node metastasis was significantly associated with the number of intratumoral FOXP3+ cells. Furthermore, Suzuki noted that “the ratio of the number of [intratumoral] CD8+ T cells to the number of [intratumoral] FOXP3+ cells (itCD8+:itFOXP3+ cell ratio) was negatively correlated with pathological stages.”
Although the number of CD8+ T cells and FOXP3+ cells was not associated with disease-free survival or overall survival, Suzuki and colleagues found that the “CD8+:FOXP3+ ratio showed a significant positive correlation with disease-free survival (P = 0.023) and overall survival (P = 0.010).”
Importantly, a multivariate analysis revealed that this balance between CD8+ T cells and FOXP3+ cells is an independent indicator for overall survival in patients with colorectal cancer undergoing surgery.
Why this ratio might act as a prognostic marker remains to be elucidated; however, Suzuki suggested that “one possible answer is that antitumor immunity is determined by the immunological balance in the microenvironment of the tumor site.”
ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER
Suzuki, H. et al. Intratumoral CD8+ T/FOXP3+ cell ratio is a predictive marker for survival in patients with colorectal cancer. Cancer Immunol. Immunother. 59, 653–661 (2010)
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Kirk, R. CD8+:FOXP3+ cell ratio is a novel survival marker for colorectal cancer. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 7, 299 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2010.79
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2010.79
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