Tamari Hirosato, Kitadai Yasuhiko, Takigawa Hidehiko, Yuge Ryo, Urabe Yuji, Shimamoto Fumio, Oka Shiro
Department of Gastroenterology, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima 734-8551, Japan.
Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Human Culture and Science, Prefectural University of Hiroshima, Hiroshima 734-8558, Japan.
Cancers (Basel). 2023 Oct 31;15(21):5238. doi: 10.3390/cancers15215238.
The role of tumor-infiltrating T cells (TILs) in colorectal cancer (CRC) and their significance in early-stage CRC remain unknown. We investigated the role of TILs in early-stage CRC, particularly in deep submucosal invasive (T1b) CRC. Sixty patients with CRC (20 each with intramucosal [IM group], submucosal invasive [SM group], and advanced cancer [AD group]) were randomly selected. We examined changes in TILs with tumor invasion and the relationship between TILs and LN metastasis risk. Eighty-four patients with T1b CRC who underwent initial surgical resection with LN dissection or additional surgical resection with LN dissection after endoscopic resection were then selected. TIL phenotype and number were evaluated using triple immunofluorescence for CD4, CD8, and Foxp3. All subtypes were more numerous according to the degree of CRC invasion and more abundant at the invasive front of the tumor (IF) than in the center of the tumor (CT) in the SM and AD groups. The increased Foxp3 cells at the IF and high ratios of Foxp3/CD4 and Foxp3/CD8 positively correlated with LN metastasis. In conclusion, tumor invasion positively correlated with the number of TILs in CRC. The number and ratio of Foxp3 cells at the IF may predict LN metastasis in T1b CRC.
肿瘤浸润性T细胞（TILs）在结直肠癌（CRC）中的作用及其在早期CRC中的意义尚不清楚。我们研究了TILs在早期CRC中的作用，特别是在深层黏膜下浸润性（T1b）CRC中的作用。随机选择60例CRC患者（黏膜内癌[IM组]、黏膜下浸润癌[SM组]和进展期癌[AD组]各20例）。我们研究了TILs随肿瘤浸润的变化以及TILs与淋巴结转移风险之间的关系。然后选择84例接受初次手术切除并清扫淋巴结或在内镜切除后进行额外手术切除并清扫淋巴结的T1b CRC患者。使用针对CD4、CD8和Foxp3的三重免疫荧光评估TIL表型和数量。在SM组和AD组中，所有亚型的数量均根据CRC浸润程度增加，且在肿瘤浸润前沿（IF）比肿瘤中心（CT）更为丰富。IF处Foxp3细胞增加以及Foxp3/CD4和Foxp3/CD8的高比例与淋巴结转移呈正相关。总之，肿瘤浸润与CRC中TILs的数量呈正相关。IF处Foxp3细胞的数量和比例可能预测T1b CRC中的淋巴结转移。
