Results: Patients with >10 CD8 ؉ T lymphocytes/highpower field within the tumor epithelium at the invasive border displayed improved overall survival compared with patients with fewer intraepithelial CD8 ؉ T lymphocytes (87 and 50%, respectively; P ‫؍‬ 0.027). Multivariate analysis revealed that stage, vascular invasion, grade, and the number of intraepithelial CD8؉ T lymphocytes at the invasive border were the only independent predictors of survival (P < 0.0001, P ‫؍‬ 0.001, P ‫؍‬ 0.011, and P ‫؍‬ 0.025, respectively). Granzyme B ؉ cytoplasmatic granules were detected in a high proportion of CTLs, confirming their activated cytotoxic phenotype.Conclusions: Our study demonstrates for the first time that increased numbers of CTLs at the invasive border may be a reliable independent prognostic factor of survival in patients with endometrial carcinoma.

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