Correlation between the Lymphocytic Infiltration of Tumors and the Proliferative Activity of Cancer Cells from Surgically Treated Esophageal Carcinoma

Abstract

To evaluate the correlation among the biological behavior of cancer cells, the local immune response of the host, and survival of patients with esophageal carcinoma, we investigated the proliferative activity of cancer cells by immunostaining with the Ki-67 monoclonal antibody in 95 cases of surgically resected esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and compared them with the extent of lymphocytic infiltration of the tumor (LI) in the same specimens. The mean Ki-67 score of 43 tumors with low-grade LI was 46.7% and it was not different from that of 52 tumors with high-grade LI (49.4%, p = 0.441). A significant correlation between the Ki-67 score and the clinicopathological characteristics of tumors (depth of tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis, and stage) was detected. However, in the same stage, the survival of patients with a low Ki-67 score was not different from that ofpatients with a high Ki-67 score. On the other hand, even no significant correlation between the extent of LI and the clinicopathological characteristics of tumors was found; the 5-year survival rate of 17 patients with high-grade LI (13.9%) was significantly better than that of 15 patients with low-grade LI (0%, p = 0.07) in stage III. These facts indicate that proliferative activity might correlate with the tumor progression, however, when the survival is compared in the same stage, the local immune response such as the extent of lymphocytic infiltration of the tumor might be the better prognostic factor than proliferative activity in patients with esophageal cancer.

The expression of RCAS1 and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in patients with T3 gastric carcinoma

“…The reasons for this failure in tumor immunity might be insufficient expression of co-stimulatory or adhesion molecules by tumor cells, or defective processing and presentation of antigens on their cell surface [30][31][32]. Previous studies suggested that gastric carcinoma may require a greater number of TILs to overcome tumor growth than colorectal or esophageal carcinoma [12][13][14][15]. The current study was carried out to elucidate the multiple steps by which gastric carcinoma escapes from immunological defense mechanisms.…”

“…Moreover, the number of TILs was found to correlate with survival in colorectal and esophageal carcinoma patients [12,13]. Setälä et al [14] investigated the prognostic value of various clinicopathological factors in 321 gastric carcinoma patients.…”

Prognostic Significance of RCAS1 Expression in Relation to the Infiltration of Dendritic Cells and Lymphocytes in Patients with Esophageal Carcinoma

“…Border fields between the esophageal carcinoma and the normal tissue were randomly selected in each section, and the TILs were counted in at least five areas per slide. The TIL densities were classified into two groups: high density, numerous lymphocytes had infiltrated the tumor stroma; and low density, a few lymphocytes were scattered around the tumor cells [5].…”

“…Bennett et al reported that apoptosis of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) was mediated by exposure to FasL in esophageal carcinoma cells [4]. Because the number of TILs was found to be correlated with survival in esophageal carcinoma patients [5], this apoptotic depletion of TILs by tumor cells has been suggested to facilitate tumor immune evasion [6,7]. RCAS1 (receptor-binding cancer antigen expressed on SiSo cells) was originally isolated as a cDNA encoding the antigen (Ag) recognized by the 22-1-1 antibody (Ab), which was isolated from mice immunized with the human uterine cervical adenocarcinoma cell line SiSo [8].…”

Effect of tumor infiltrating lymphocyte on local control of rectal cancer after preoperative radiotherapy

“…The prognosis in cases with marked LI is reported to be better than in those without LI regarding cancers of various organs such as stomach [6] , colon [7] , and esophagus [8] . On the other hand, LI is frequently recognized following radiotherapy [9] .…”