Jiang Mengyuan, Zhang Rui, Huang Min, Yang Jing, Liu Qianqian, Zhao Ziru, Ma Ya, Zhao Hongfan, Zhang Min
Department of Pathology, Taicang Loujiang New City Hospital, Taicang, Jiangsu, China.
Department of Pathology, Gansu Provincial Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Cancer Med. 2025 Mar;14(5):e70614. doi: 10.1002/cam4.70614.
Tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) are important components of the colorectal cancer (CRC) microenvironment. However, their role in CRC remains controversial. This study aimed to assess the prognostic value of TANs in patients with CRC.
We searched the PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases for eligible studies published until January 9, 2023. The pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and odds ratios (ORs) with their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated with a random-effects model to assess survival outcomes and clinicopathological features. Subgroup analyses were further conducted to identify potential sources of heterogeneity. Funnel plots and Egger's test were used to measure publication bias.
A total of 19 studies with 7721 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled analysis indicated that high peritumoral TAN infiltration in CRC tissue was significantly associated with favorable cancer-specific survival (HR = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.38-0.86; p = 0.007), but not with overall survival or disease-free survival. No association between high intratumoral or unclear compartment TAN infiltration and CRC prognosis was found. Subgroup analyses showed that the association between TANs and the prognosis of CRC patients differed according to antibody types, tumor stage, quantitative methods, and follow-up time. High intratumoral TAN infiltration was significantly associated with histology type, whereas high TAN infiltration in an unclear compartment was significantly associated with gender, tumor location, and the primary tumor site.
High TAN infiltration, especially in the peritumoral compartment, could be a potential prognostic marker in CRC. More high-quality studies are required to explore its specific prognostic value in CRC.
肿瘤相关中性粒细胞（TANs）是结直肠癌（CRC）微环境的重要组成部分。然而，它们在CRC中的作用仍存在争议。本研究旨在评估TANs在CRC患者中的预后价值。
我们检索了PubMed、EMBASE和Cochrane图书馆数据库，以查找截至2023年1月9日发表的符合条件的研究。采用随机效应模型计算合并风险比（HRs）和比值比（ORs）及其95%置信区间（95%CI），以评估生存结局和临床病理特征。进一步进行亚组分析以确定异质性的潜在来源。采用漏斗图和Egger检验来衡量发表偏倚。
本荟萃分析共纳入19项研究，涉及7721例患者。汇总分析表明，CRC组织中肿瘤周围TANs高浸润与良好的癌症特异性生存显著相关（HR = 0.57；95%CI：0.38 - 0.86；p = 0.007），但与总生存或无病生存无关。未发现肿瘤内或分区不明的TANs高浸润与CRC预后之间存在关联。亚组分析显示，TANs与CRC患者预后之间的关联因抗体类型（免疫组化）、肿瘤分期、定量方法和随访时间而异。肿瘤内TANs高浸润与组织学类型显著相关，而分区不明的TANs高浸润与性别、肿瘤位置和原发肿瘤部位显著相关。
TANs高浸润，尤其是在肿瘤周围区域，可能是CRC的潜在预后标志物。需要更多高质量研究来探索其在CRC中的具体预后价值。
