The essential role of the in situ immune reaction in human colorectal cancer

Principles of risk assessment in colon cancer: immunity is key

In clinical practice, the administration of adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) following tumor surgical resection raises a critical dilemma for stage II colon cancer (CC) patients. The prognostic features used to identify high-risk CC patients rely on the pathological assessment of tumor cells. Currently, these factors are considered for stratifying patients who may benefit from ACT at early CC stages. However, the extent to which these factors predict clinical outcomes (i.e. recurrence, survival) remains highly controversial, also uncertainty persists regarding patients' response to treatment, necessitating further investigation. Therefore, an imperious need is to explore novel biomarkers that can reliably stratify patients at risk, to optimize adjuvant treatment decisions. Recently, we evaluated the prognostic and predictive value of Immunoscore (IS), an immune digital-pathology assay, in stage II CC patients. IS emerged as the sole significant parameter for predicting disease-free survival (DFS) in high-risk patients. Moreover, IS effectively stratified patients who would benefit most from ACT based on their risk of recurrence, thus predicting their outcomes. Notably, our findings revealed that digital IS outperformed the visual quantitative assessment of the immune response conducted by expert pathologists. The latest edition of the WHO classification for digestive tumor has introduced the evaluation of the immune response, as assessed by IS, as desirable and essential diagnostic criterion. This supports the revision of current cancer guidelines and strongly recommends the implementation of IS into clinical practice as a patient stratification tool, to guide CC treatment decisions. This approach may provide appropriate personalized therapeutic decisions that could critically impact early-stage CC patient care.

Location matters: spatial dynamics of tumor-infiltrating T cell subsets is prognostic in colon cancer

Background

Colon cancer is a heterogeneous disease and consists of various molecular subtypes. Despite advances in high-throughput expression profiling, limitations remain in predicting clinical outcome and assigning specific treatment to individual cases. Tumor-immune interactions play a critical role, with tumors that activate the immune system having better outcome for the patient. The localization of T cells within tumor epithelium, to enable direct contact, is essential for antitumor function, but bulk DNA/RNA sequencing data lacks spatial distribution information. In this study, we provide spatial T cell tumor distribution and connect these data with previously determined genomic data in the AC-ICAM colon cancer patient cohort.

Methods

Colon cancer patients (n=90) with transcriptome data available were selected. We used a custom multiplex immunofluorescence assay on colon tumor tissue sections for quantifying T cell subsets spatial distribution in the tumor microenvironment, in terms of cell number, location, mutual distance, and distance to tumor cells. Statistical analyses included the previously determined Immunologic Constant of Rejection (ICR) transcriptome correlation and patient survival, revealing potential prognostic value in T cell spatial distribution.

Results

T cell phenotypes were characterized and CD3+CD8-FoxP3- T cells were found to be the predominant tumor-infiltrating subtype while CD3+FoxP3+ T cells and CD3+CD8+ T cells showed similar densities. Spatial distribution analysis elucidated that proliferative T cells, characterized by Ki67 expression, and Granzyme B-expressing T cells were predominantly located within the tumor epithelium. We demonstrated an increase in immune cell density and a decrease in the distance of CD3+CD8+ T cells to the nearest tumor cell, in the immune active, ICR High, immune subtypes. Higher densities of stromal CD3+FoxP3+ T cells showed enhanced survival outcomes, and patients exhibited superior clinical benefits when greater spatial distances were observed between CD3+CD8-FoxP3- or CD3+CD8+ T cells and CD3+FoxP3+ T cells.

Conclusion

Our study's in-depth analysis of the spatial distribution and densities of major T cell subtypes within the tumor microenvironment has provided valuable information that paves the way for further research into the intricate relationships between immune cells and colon cancer development.

Impact of tumor microenvironment on efficacy of anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapy or chemotherapy and transplant in large B cell lymphoma

The phase 3 ZUMA-7 trial in second-line large B cell lymphoma demonstrated superiority of anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapy (axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel)) over standard of care (SOC; salvage chemotherapy followed by hematopoietic transplantation) ( NCT03391466 ). Here, we present a prespecified exploratory analysis examining the association between pretreatment tumor characteristics and the efficacy of axi-cel versus SOC. B cell gene expression signature (GES) and CD19 expression associated significantly with improved event-free survival for axi-cel (P = 0.0002 for B cell GES; P = 0.0165 for CD19 expression) but not SOC (P = 0.9374 for B cell GES; P = 0.5526 for CD19 expression). Axi-cel showed superior event-free survival over SOC irrespective of B cell GES and CD19 expression (P = 8.56 × 10-9 for B cell GES high; P = 0.0019 for B cell GES low; P = 3.85 × 10-9 for CD19 gene high; P = 0.0017 for CD19 gene low). Low CD19 expression in malignant cells correlated with a tumor GES consisting of immune-suppressive stromal and myeloid genes, highlighting the inter-relation between malignant cell features and immune contexture substantially impacting axi-cel outcomes. Tumor burden, lactate dehydrogenase and cell-of-origin impacted SOC more than axi-cel outcomes. T cell activation and B cell GES, which are associated with improved axi-cel outcome, decreased with increasing lines of therapy. These data highlight differences in resistance mechanisms to axi-cel and SOC and support earlier intervention with axi-cel.

Neoadjuvant calcium electroporation for potentially curable colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND

The development of new perioperative treatment modalities to activate the immune system in colorectal cancer might have a beneficial effect on reducing the risk of recurrence after surgery. Calcium electroporation is a promising treatment modality that potentially modulates the tumor microenvironment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety of the procedure in the neoadjuvant setting in localized left-sided colorectal cancer (CRC).

METHODS

The study included patients with potentially curable sigmoid or rectal cancer with no indication for other neoadjuvant treatment. Patients were offered calcium electroporation as a neoadjuvant treatment before elective surgery. Follow-up visits were conducted on the preoperative day before elective surgery, POD2, POD14, and POD30, with an evaluation of adverse events, impact on elective surgery, clinical examination, and quality of recovery.

RESULTS

Endoscopic calcium electroporation was performed as an outpatient procedure in all 21 cases, with no procedure-related complications reported. At follow-up, five adverse events were registered, two of which were classified as serious adverse events. Surgery was performed as planned in 19 patients (median time to surgery, 8 days), and the final two patients underwent surgery with a delay due to adverse events (14 and 33 days). No significant impact on the quality of recovery scores nor inflammatory markers were seen before and after calcium electroporation, nor baseline and POD30.

CONCLUSIONS

Endoscopic calcium electroporation is a safe and feasible procedure in patients with potentially curable CRC. The study showed limited side effects and limited impact on the following elective surgical resection.

The T Cell Immunoscore as a Reference for Biomarker Development Utilizing Real-World Data from Patients with Advanced Malignancies Treated with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

BACKGROUND

We aimed to determine the prognostic value of an immunoscore reflecting CD3+ and CD8+ T cell density estimated from real-world transcriptomic data of a patient cohort with advanced malignancies treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in an effort to validate a reference for future machine learning-based biomarker development.

METHODS

Transcriptomic data was collected under the Total Cancer Care Protocol (NCT03977402) Avatar® project. The real-world immunoscore for each patient was calculated based on the estimated densities of tumor CD3+ and CD8+ T cells utilizing CIBERSORTx and the LM22 gene signature matrix. Then, the immunoscore association with overall survival (OS) was estimated using Cox regression and analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curves. The OS predictions were assessed using Harrell's concordance index (C-index). The Youden index was used to identify the optimal cut-off point. Statistical significance was assessed using the log-rank test.

RESULTS

Our study encompassed 522 patients with four cancer types. The median duration to death was 10.5 months for the 275 participants who encountered an event. For the entire cohort, the results demonstrated that transcriptomics-based immunoscore could significantly predict patients at risk of death (p-value < 0.001). Notably, patients with an intermediate-high immunoscore achieved better OS than those with a low immunoscore. In subgroup analysis, the prediction of OS was significant for melanoma and head and neck cancer patients but did not reach significance in the non-small cell lung cancer or renal cell carcinoma cohorts.

CONCLUSIONS

Calculating CD3+ and CD8+ T cell immunoscore using real-world transcriptomic data represents a promising signature for estimating OS with ICIs and can be used as a reference for future machine learning-based biomarker development.

Multi-Institutional Evaluation of Pathologists' Assessment Compared to Immunoscore

BACKGROUND

The Immunoscore (IS) is a quantitative digital pathology assay that evaluates the immune response in cancer patients. This study reports on the reproducibility of pathologists' visual assessment of CD3+- and CD8+-stained colon tumors, compared to IS quantification.

METHODS

An international group of expert pathologists evaluated 540 images from 270 randomly selected colon cancer (CC) cases. Concordance between pathologists' T-score, corresponding hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) slides, and the digital IS was evaluated for two- and three-category IS.

RESULTS

Non-concordant T-scores were reported in more than 92% of cases. Disagreement between semi-quantitative visual assessment of T-score and the reference IS was observed in 91% and 96% of cases before and after training, respectively. Statistical analyses showed that the concordance index between pathologists and the digital IS was weak in two- and three-category IS, respectively. After training, 42% of cases had a change in T-score, but no improvement was observed with a Kappa of 0.465 and 0.374. For the 20% of patients around the cut points, no concordance was observed between pathologists and digital pathology analysis in both two- and three-category IS, before or after training (all Kappa < 0.12).

CONCLUSIONS

The standardized IS assay outperformed expert pathologists' T-score evaluation in the clinical setting. This study demonstrates that digital pathology, in particular digital IS, represents a novel generation of immune pathology tools for reproducible and quantitative assessment of tumor-infiltrated immune cell subtypes.

The predictive value of CD4, CD8, and C-reactive protein in the prognosis of schistosomal and non-schistosomal colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND

Although schistosomiasis has been basically eliminated, it has not been completely extinction in China and occasional outbreaks occur in Europe in recent years. The relationship between inflammation caused by Schistosoma japonicum and colorectal cancer (CRC) is still obscure, and the inflammation based prognostic systems of schistosomal colorectal (SCRC) has rarely been reported.

AIM

To explore the different roles of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in SCRC and in Non-schistosomal CRC (NSCRC), providing a possible predictive system to evaluate outcomes and to improve the risk stratification for CRC patients, especially for CRC patients with schistosomiasis.

METHODS

Three hundred fifty-one CRC tumors were evaluated for density of CD4 + , CD8 + T cells and CRP in intratumoral and stromal compartments by immunohistochemical using tissue microarray.

RESULTS

There were no association between TILs and CRP and schistosomiasis. Multivariate analysis identified stromal CD4 (sCD4) (p = 0.038), intratumoral CD8 (iCD8) (p = 0.003), schistosomiasis (p = 0.045) as independent prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) in the whole cohort; and sCD4 (p = 0.006) and iCD8 (p = 0.020) were independent prognostic factors for OS in the NSCRC and SCRC set, respectively. Besides, we found that there were no differences of TILs and CRP, which were distributed in different areas of tumor tissue, between CRC patients with and without schistosomiasis.

CONCLUSION

The results remind us that different subtypes of TILs have distinguished biological behavior and prognosis value in the immune microenvironment of NSCRC and SCRC patients. Meanwhile, the findings require us to stratify patients with schistosomiasis and this might facilitate patient counseling and management.

Multicenter International Study of the Consensus Immunoscore for the Prediction of Relapse and Survival in Early-Stage Colon Cancer

Background: The prognostic value of Immunoscore was evaluated in Stage II/III colon cancer (CC) patients, but it remains unclear in Stage I/II, and in early-stage subgroups at risk. An international Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) study evaluated the pre-defined consensus Immunoscore in tumors from 1885 AJCC/UICC-TNM Stage I/II CC patients from Canada/USA (Cohort 1) and Europe/Asia (Cohort 2). METHODS: Digital-pathology is used to quantify the densities of CD3+ and CD8+ T-lymphocyte in the center of tumor (CT) and the invasive margin (IM). The time to recurrence (TTR) was the primary endpoint. Secondary endpoints were disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), prognosis in Stage I, Stage II, Stage II-high-risk, and microsatellite-stable (MSS) patients. RESULTS: High-Immunoscore presented with the lowest risk of recurrence in both cohorts. In Stage I/II, recurrence-free rates at 5 years were 78.4% (95%-CI, 74.4−82.6), 88.1% (95%-CI, 85.7−90.4), 93.4% (95%-CI, 91.1−95.8) in low, intermediate and high Immunoscore, respectively (HR (Hi vs. Lo) = 0.27 (95%-CI, 0.18−0.41); p < 0.0001). In Cox multivariable analysis, the association of Immunoscore to outcome was independent (TTR: HR (Hi vs. Lo) = 0.29, (95%-CI, 0.17−0.50); p < 0.0001) of the patient’s gender, T-stage, sidedness, and microsatellite instability-status (MSI). A significant association of Immunoscore with survival was found for Stage II, high-risk Stage II, T4N0 and MSS patients. The Immunoscore also showed significant association with TTR in Stage-I (HR (Hi vs. Lo) = 0.07 (95%-CI, 0.01−0.61); P = 0.016). The Immunoscore had the strongest (69.5%) contribution χ2 for influencing survival. Patients with a high Immunoscore had prolonged TTR in T4N0 tumors even for patients not receiving chemotherapy, and the Immunoscore remained the only significant parameter in multivariable analysis. CONCLUSION: In early CC, low Immunoscore reliably identifies patients at risk of relapse for whom a more intensive surveillance program or adjuvant treatment should be considered.

Transcriptomic and immunophenotypic profiling reveals molecular and immunological hallmarks of colorectal cancer tumourigenesis

OBJECTIVE

Biological insights into the stepwise development and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC) are imperative to develop tailored approaches for early detection and optimal clinical management of this disease. Here, we aimed to dissect the transcriptional and immunologic alterations that accompany malignant transformation in CRC and to identify clinically relevant biomarkers through spatial profiling of pT1 CRC samples.

DESIGN

We employed digital spatial profiling (GeoMx) on eight pT1 CRCs to study gene expression in the epithelial and stromal segments across regions of distinct histology, including normal mucosa, low-grade and high-grade dysplasia and cancer. Consecutive histology sections were profiled by imaging mass cytometry to reveal immune contextures. Finally, publicly available single-cell RNA-sequencing data was analysed to determine the cellular origin of relevant transcripts.

RESULTS

Comparison of gene expression between regions within pT1 CRC samples identified differentially expressed genes in the epithelium (n=1394 genes) and the stromal segments (n=1145 genes) across distinct histologies. Pathway analysis identified an early onset of inflammatory responses during malignant transformation, typified by upregulation of gene signatures such as innate immune sensing. We detected increased infiltration of myeloid cells and a shift in macrophage populations from pro-inflammatory HLA-DR⁺CD204^- macrophages to HLA-DR^-CD204⁺ immune-suppressive subsets from normal tissue through dysplasia to cancer, accompanied by the upregulation of the CD47/SIRPα 'don't eat me signal'.

CONCLUSION

Spatial profiling revealed the molecular and immunological landscape of CRC tumourigenesis at early disease stage. We identified biomarkers with strong association with disease progression as well as targetable immune processes that are exploitable in a clinical setting.

Clinical Performance of the Consensus Immunoscore in Colon Cancer in the Asian Population from the Multicenter International SITC Study

BACKGROUND: In this study, we evaluated the prognostic value of Immunoscore in patients with stage I−III colon cancer (CC) in the Asian population. These patients were originally included in an international study led by the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) on 2681 patients with AJCC/UICC-TNM stages I−III CC. METHODS: CD3+ and cytotoxic CD8+ T-lymphocyte densities were quantified in the tumor and invasive margin by digital pathology. The association of Immunoscore with prognosis was evaluated for time to recurrence (TTR), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: Immunoscore stratified Asian patients (n = 423) into different risk categories and was not impacted by age. Recurrence-free rates at 3 years were 78.5%, 85.2%, and 98.3% for a Low, Intermediate, and High Immunoscore, respectively (HR[Low-vs-High] = 7.26 (95% CI 1.75−30.19); p = 0.0064). A High Immunoscore showed a significant association with prolonged TTR, OS, and DFS (p < 0.05). In Cox multivariable analysis stratified by center, Immunoscore association with TTR was independent (HR[Low-vs-Int+High] = 2.22 (95% CI 1.10−4.55) p = 0.0269) of the patient’s gender, T-stage, N-stage, sidedness, and MSI status. A significant association of a High Immunoscore with prolonged TTR was also found among MSS (HR[Low-vs-Int+High] = 4.58 (95% CI 2.27−9.23); p ≤ 0.0001), stage II (HR[Low-vs-Int+High] = 2.72 (95% CI 1.35−5.51); p = 0.0052), low-risk stage-II (HR[Low-vs-Int+High] = 2.62 (95% CI 1.21−5.68); p = 0.0146), and high-risk stage II patients (HR[Low-vs-Int+High] = 3.11 (95% CI 1.39−6.91); p = 0.0055). CONCLUSION: A High Immunoscore is significantly associated with the prolonged survival of CC patients within the Asian population.

Comparison of Immune Response Assessment in Colon Cancer by Immunoscore (Automated Digital Pathology) and Pathologist Visual Scoring

Simple Summary

The immune response to colon cancer (CC) is highly variable among patients and is clinically relevant. In this study, we compared the immune response assessment for early-stage CC, as measured by Immunoscore (IS), to pathologist visual scoring of the CD3+ and CD8+ T-cell densities at the tumor site (T-score). The objectives were to determine the inter-observer agreement between pathologists and the concordance between the two methods. Agreement between pathologists was minimal to weak. Moreover, a weak concordance between the two methods was observed, leading to misclassification of 48% of cases by pathologist scoring. Due to the high level of immune infiltrate heterogeneity resulting in disagreement of interpretation among pathologists, IS is unlikely to be reproduced via non-standardized methods.

Abstract

Adjunction of immune response into the TNM classification system improves the prediction of colon cancer (CC) prognosis. However, immune response measurements have not been used as robust biomarkers of pathology in clinical practice until the introduction of Immunoscore (IS), a standardized assay based on automated artificial intelligence assisted digital pathology. The strong prognostic impact of the immune response, as assessed by IS, has been widely validated and IS can help to refine treatment decision making in early CC. In this study, we compared pathologist visual scoring to IS. Four pathologists evaluated tumor specimens from 50 early-stage CC patients and classified the CD3+ and CD8+ T-cell densities at the tumor site (T-score) into 2 (High/Low) categories. Individual and overall pathologist scoring of immune response (before and after training for immune response assessment) were compared to the reference IS (High/Low). Pathologists’ disagreement with the reference IS was observed in almost half of the cases (48%) and training only slightly improved the accuracy of pathologists’ classification. Agreement among pathologists was minimal with a Kappa of 0.34 and 0.57 before and after training, respectively. The standardized IS assay outperformed expert pathologist assessment in the clinical setting.

Genomic Profiling Reveals the Molecular Landscape of Gastrointestinal Tract Cancers in Chinese Patients

Gastrointestinal tract cancers have high incidence and mortality in China, but their molecular characteristics have not been fully investigated. We sequenced 432 tumor samples from the colorectum, stomach, pancreas, gallbladder, and biliary tract to investigate cancer-related mutations and detail the landscape of microsatellite instability (MSI), tumor mutation burden (TMB), and chromosomal instability (CIN). We observed the highest TMB in colorectal and gastric cancers and the lowest TMB in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). Twenty-four hyper-mutated tumors were identified only in colorectal and gastric cancers, with a significant enrichment of mutations in the polymerase genes (POLE, POLD1, and POLH) and mismatch repair (MMR) genes. Additionally, CIN preferentially occurred in colorectal and gastric cancers, while pancreatic, gallbladder, and biliary duct cancers had a much lower CIN. High CIN was correlated with a higher prevalence of malfunctions in chromosome segregation and cell cycle genes, including the copy number loss of WRN, NAT1, NF2, and BUB1B, and the copy number gain of MYC, ERBB2, EGFR, and CDK6. In addition, TP53 mutations were more abundant in high-CIN tumors, while PIK3CA mutations were more frequent in low-CIN tumors. In colorectal and gastric cancers, tumors with MSI demonstrated much fewer copy number changes than microsatellite stable (MSS) tumors. In colorectal and gastric cancers, the molecular characteristics of tumors revealed the mutational diversity between the different anatomical origins of tumors. This study provides novel insights into the molecular landscape of Chinese gastrointestinal cancers and the genetic differences between tumor locations, which could be useful for future clinical patient stratification and targeted interventions.

License to kill: microsatellite instability and immune contexture

Colorectal cancers (CRCs) with microsatellite instability (MSI) are due to a defect in the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) system resulting in an accumulation of frame-shift mutations. They are characterized by a tumor microenvironment richer in cytotoxic CD8 T-cells (CTLs) and a better prognosis compared to microsatellite stable (MSS) CRCs. The mechanisms by which defective MMR system may influence tumor-infiltrating immune cells and their impact on patient survival were still unclear. Thus, we performed a comprehensive analysis of MSI colorectal tumors.

We found that the numbers of frame-shift mutations potentially resulting in neo-epitopes were positively correlated to the density of tumor infiltrating CD8 T-cells but were lower than expected at random. We also evidenced that MSI patients could naturally harbor CTLs targeting frame-shift mutation-derived antigens. This favors the hypothesis of an active immunosurveillance in MSI colorectal tumors leading to the genetic evidence of an immunoediting. To evaluate the link between MSI tumor immune contexture and prognosis, we took advantage of a standardized assay that we developed to quantify tumor-infiltrating T-cells, the Immunoscore. Multivariate analyses revealed an advantage of Immunoscore over MSI in predicting recurrence and survival. Our data suggests that the prognostic value of MSI could be attributed to major underlying differences of infiltrating immune cells. Immunotherapeutic treatments, that are more efficient in patients with a preexisting anti-tumor immunity, were approved in MSI patients following successful clinical trials. We suggest that the Immunoscore could be used not only for colorectal tumor prognosis but also for predicting responses to immunotherapies.

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in the immunotherapy era

The clinical success of cancer immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has refocused attention on tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) across cancer types. The outcome of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in cancer patients has been linked to the quality and magnitude of T cell, NK cell, and more recently, B cell responses within the tumor microenvironment. State-of-the-art single-cell analysis of TIL gene expression profiles and clonality has revealed a remarkable degree of cellular heterogeneity and distinct patterns of immune activation and exhaustion. Many of these states are conserved across tumor types, in line with the broad responses observed clinically. Despite this homology, not all cancer types with similar TIL landscapes respond similarly to immunotherapy, highlighting the complexity of the underlying tumor-immune interactions. This observation is further confounded by the strong prognostic benefit of TILs observed for tumor types that have so far respond poorly to immunotherapy. Thus, while a holistic view of lymphocyte infiltration and dysfunction on a single-cell level is emerging, the search for response and prognostic biomarkers is just beginning. Within this review, we discuss recent advances in the understanding of TIL biology, their prognostic benefit, and their predictive value for therapy.

Molecular correlates of immune cytolytic subgroups in colorectal cancer by integrated genomics analysis

Although immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) has shown promising results in metastatic dMMR/MSI-H colorectal cancer (CRC), the majority of pMMR/MSS patients do not respond to such therapies. To systematically evaluate the determinants of immune response in CRC, we explored whether patients with diverse levels of immune cytolytic activity (CYT) have different patterns of chromothripsis and kataegis. Analysis of CRC genomic data from the TCGA, indicated an excess of chromothriptic clusters among CYT-low colon adenocarcinomas, affecting known cancer drivers (APC, KRAS, BRAF, TP53 and FBXW7), immune checkpoints (CD274, PDCD1LG2, IDO1/2 and LAG3) and immune-related genes (ENTPD1, PRF1, NKG7, FAS, GZMA/B/H/K and CD73). CYT-high tumors were characterized by hypermutation, enrichment in APOBEC-associated mutations and kataegis events, as well as APOBEC activation. We also assessed differences in the most prevalent mutational signatures (SBS15, SBS20, SBS54 and DBS2) across cytolytic subgroups. Regarding the composition of immune cells in the tumor milieu, we found enrichment of M1 macrophages, CD8+ T cells and Tregs, as well as higher CD8+ T-cells/Tregs ratio among CYT-high tumors. CYT-high patients had higher immunophenoscores, which is predictive of their responsiveness if they were to be treated with anti-PD-1 alone or in combination with anti-CTLA-4 drugs. These results could have implications for patient responsiveness to immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Precision immunity: Immunoscore and neoadjuvant treatment in bladder cancer

This review details the clinical utility of Immunoscore, measuring the immune response to cancer within the tumor microenvironment, in bladder cancer. Immunoscore was recently introduced into ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for gastrointestinal cancer and into the WHO classification of the Digestive System Tumors. In muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), the standard-of-care treatment is neo-adjuvant chemotherapy and cystectomy. However, only 50% of the patients are still alive at 5 years. The degree of histologic response positively correlated with Immunoscore and patients at lower risk of relapse or death were associated with a high-Immunoscore. Immunoscore is also predicting response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy-based treatment in several indications. This paves the way for the use of Immunoscore in clinical practice not only in gastrointestinal tumors but also in bladder cancer, and beyond.

Expand to shield: IL-15 and in situ lymphocytic proliferation

The tumor microenvironment includes a complex network of cytokines and chemokines that contribute to shaping the intratumoral immune reaction. Understanding the mechanisms leading to immune-hot (Immunoscore-high) altered (excluded and immunosuppressed) and cold tumors are of critical importance for successful anti-cancer therapies. Two essential mechanisms are highlighted. Specific chemokines and adhesion molecules appeared to target and attract immune effector T cells to the tumor microenvironment and to specific regions within the tumor. These mechanisms are dependent upon intratumoral IL-15 expression. Decreased IL15 expression also affected the local proliferation of B and T lymphocytes. A comprehensive analysis revealed a major contribution of IL15 in shaping the tumor immune contexture. Thus, an in situ lymphocytic infiltration is mediated through chemokines and attraction inside or around the tumor microenvironment, and an IL15-mediated in situ lymphocytic proliferation, which expand the local pool of intratumoral cytotoxic CD8 T-cells are key determinants of the immune contexture. Increased IL15 expression and local proliferation of T-cells were associated with decreased risk of tumor recurrence and prolonged survival of cancer patients. These data provide further mechanisms to prioritize research and help in designing better therapeutic interventions.

Gut Microbial Signatures in Sporadic and Hereditary Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the fourth most common cause of cancer-related death and the third most common cancer in the world. Depending on the origin of the mutation, colorectal carcinomas are classified as sporadic or hereditary. Cancers derived from mutations appearing during life, affecting individual cells and their descendants, are called sporadic and account for almost 95% of the CRCs. Less than 5% of CRC cases result from constitutional mutations conferring a very high risk of developing cancer. Screening for hereditary-related cancers is offered to individuals at risk for hereditary CRC, who have either not undergone genetic evaluation or have uncertain genetic test results. In this review, we briefly summarize the main findings on the correlation between sporadic CRC and the gut microbiota, and we specifically focus on the few evidences about the role that gut microorganisms have on the development of CRC hereditary syndromes. The characterization of a gut microbiota associated with an increased risk of developing CRC could have a profound impact for prevention purposes. We also discuss the potential role of the gut microbiota as therapeutic treatment.

Emodin Inhibits Inflammation, Carcinogenesis, and Cancer Progression in the AOM/DSS Model of Colitis-Associated Intestinal Tumorigenesis

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancer worldwide. Chronic inflammation contributes to CRC development and progression. Emodin, is a natural anthraquinone derivative with anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor activities. We used the AOM/DSS model of colitis-associated intestinal tumorigenesis to characterize the effect of Emodin on inflammation and tumorigenesis at weeks 3, 5, and 14 after initiation with AOM. At all three time points, Emodin (50 mg/kg) reduced inflammatory cell (i.e. CD11b⁺ and F4/80⁺) recruitment, cytokine (i.e. TNFα, IL1α/β, IL6, CCL2, CXCL5) and pro-inflammatory enzymes (i.e. COX-2, NOS2) expression in the tumor microenvironment, while promoting recruitment of CD3⁺ T lymphocytes at 14 weeks. Emodin decreased the incidence of premalignant lesions (adenoma) at week 3, the incidence of dysplastic lesions and carcinomas at week 5, and the incidence, size and the invasiveness of carcinomas at week 14. Emodin also reduced the acute clinical intestinal symptoms (i.e. bleeding and diarrhea) during DSS treatment. In vitro, Emodin inhibited the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators by LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages, and reduced viability, adhesion, migration, and fibroblasts-induced invasion of SW620 and HCT116 colon cancer cells. In conclusion, this work demonstrates that Emodin suppresses carcinogenesis-associated intestinal inflammation and prevents AOM/DSS-induced intestinal tumorigenesis and progression. These results instigate further studies on Emodin as a natural agent for the prevention or treatment of colorectal cancer.

The immune contexture and Immunoscore in cancer prognosis and therapeutic efficacy

The international American Joint Committee on Cancer/Union for International Cancer Control (AJCC/UICC) tumour-node-metastasis (TNM) staging system provides the current guidelines for the classification of cancer. However, among patients within the same stage, the clinical outcome can be very different. More recently, a novel definition of cancer has emerged, implicating at all stages a complex and dynamic interaction between tumour cells and the immune system. This has enabled the definition of the immune contexture, representing the pre-existing immune parameters associated with patient survival. Even so, the role of distinct immune cell types in modulating cancer progression is increasingly emerging. An immune-based assay named the 'Immunoscore' was defined to quantify the in situ T cell infiltrate and was demonstrated to be superior to the AJCC/UICC TNM classification for patients with colorectal cancer. This Review provides a broad overview of the main immune parameters positively or negatively shaping cancer development, including the Immunoscore, and their prognostic and predictive value. The importance of the immune system in cancer control is demonstrated by the requirement for a pre-existing intratumour adaptive immune response for effective immunotherapies, such as checkpoint inhibitors. Finally, we discuss how the combination of multiple immune parameters, rather than individual ones, might increase prognostic and/or predictive power.

No time to die: the consensus immunoscore for predicting survival and response to chemotherapy of locally advanced colon cancer patients in a multicenter international study

The multicenter international Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) study of the consensus Immunoscore demonstrated the prediction of survival and response to chemotherapy in 763 Stage III colon cancer (CC) patients. Similar Immunoscore groups were found in elderly patients, and densities of immune cells and intratumoral T-cell repertoire were not decreasing with age in the tumor microenvironment. In two independent cohorts, Immunoscore significantly predicted time to recurrence (TTR), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS), including within high-risk (T4 or N2) and low-risk (T1-3, N1) patients. In stratified Cox multivariable analysis for TTR, DFS, and OS, Immunoscore’s association to outcomes was independent of the patient’s age, sidedness, gender, T-stage, N-stage, and microsatellite instability status. Furthermore, the relative contribution to the risk test showed that Immunoscore had the highest contribution to survival. Importantly Immunoscore predicted the likelihood of response to chemotherapy. Only patients with a high-Immunoscore significantly benefited from chemotherapy. The prognostic value of Immunoscore was confirmed in two independent phase 3 clinical trials (NCCTG-N0147, n = 559; Prodige-IDEA, n = 1062). Moreover, results from IDEA phase 3 randomized trial revealed the predictive value of Immunoscore for response to adjuvant FOLFOX chemotherapy duration. The latest edition of the WHO Digestive System Tumors classification introduced the immune response as measured by Immunoscore as essential and desirable diagnostic criteria for CC, and Immunoscore was introduced into the 2020 ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for CC to refine the prognosis and adjust chemotherapy decision-making process in stages II and III patients. These results highlight the clinical utility of Immunoscore.

Usefulness and robustness of Immunoscore for personalized management of cancer patients

This review details the analytical performance characteristics of the consensus Immunoscore, measuring the immune response to cancer, improving the estimation of risk of recurrence, and predicting response to treatment for patients with colon cancer. The analytical validation of Immunoscore has been documented. Immunoscore is a robust, reproducible, quantitative, and standardized immune assay, with a high prognostic performance, independent of all of the prognostic markers currently used in clinical practice. Immunoscore evaluation within the tumor microenvironment is clinically relevant, and Immunoscore was recently introduced into ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for colon cancer and into the WHO classification of the Digestive System Tumors. This paves the way for the use of Immunoscore in clinical practice in colorectal tumors and likely soon in many other solid tumors.

Immunity to live: an immunopathoscore using the consensus Immunoscore to best define the risk of recurrence and death in stage IV metastatic patients

The consensus Immunoscore is a routine assay quantifying the adaptive immune response within the tumor microenvironment. Its evaluation in the primary tumor of patients with stages I/II/III colorectal cancer (CRC) has prognostic value that has been confirmed in multiple studies. For metastatic patients, the evaluation of the consensus Immunoscore within resected metastases also significantly predicts the recurrence and survival of Stage IV patients. Since recurrence rates post-surgery are still very high, it is important to best evaluate risk parameters using the main patho-molecular and immune parameters. After preoperative treatment and curative resection of 582 metastases from 221 patients, clinico-pathological parameters, RAS mutation, and Immunoscore within metastases were assessed. Immunoscore and clinico-pathological parameters (number of metastases, surgical margin, histopathological growth pattern, and steatohepatitis) were associated with relapse in multivariable analysis. A Pathological Score (PS) that combines relevant clinico-pathological factors for relapse and Immunoscore was significantly (P < .0001) associated with Time to recurrence. In multivariable analysis, only Immunoscore (P < .001) and RAS mutations (P= .03) were prognostic and significantly associated with overall survival. Thus, among all parameters clinically relevant in the metastatic settings, PS and Immunoscore allow the stratification of stage IV CRC patients and identify patients with higher risk of recurrence. Immunoscore remained the major prognostic factor for overall survival (OS). In its latest edition, the WHO classification of Digestive System Tumors introduced for the first time the immune response as an essential and desirable diagnostic criterion for CRC. These novel results highlight the clinical utility of Immunoscore in Stage IV patients.

Multiverse of immune microenvironment in metastatic colorectal cancer

The comprehensive analysis of patients with a complete resection of all metastases reveals the heterogeneity of the colorectal metastatic disease and its clinical impact. Complex tumor immune interrelations shape the metastatic landscape, not only in terms of number and size of lesions, or mutational pattern, but also in terms of immune cell infiltrate. Significantly higher densities of T-cells and lower density of B-cells were quantified in the tumor microenvironment of metastases compared with primary tumors. A high T cell infiltration and Immunoscore measured in the least-infiltrated metastasis were associated with a significantly lower number of metastases, larger metastasis, and prolonged survival while patients with increased metastatic burden had a lower Immunoscore. Immunoscore was evaluated on a biopsy, in a random metastasis or as the mean value of all metastases significantly predicting outcome. However, the most immune-infiltrated metastasis was not significantly predicting outcome, whereas the least immune-infiltrated metastasis was best in predicting clinical outcome. A good likelihood of concordance of Immunoscore was observed between one biopsy and complete metastasis, but the overall intra-metastatic immune infiltrate might be better estimated with multiple biopsies or sampling of larger tumor areas. This intra-metastatic adaptive immune reaction increases following aneoadjuvant treatment containing anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody, an effect that is currently therapeutically evaluated in clinical trials to improve the survival of metastatic patients.

The consensus Immunoscore in phase 3 clinical trials; potential impact on patient management decisions

The consensus Immunoscore has a prognostic value that has been confirmed in two randomized phase 3 clinical trials, and it provides a reliable estimate of the recurrence risk in colon cancer. The latest edition of the WHO classification of the Digestive System Tumors introduced for the first time the immune response as an essential and desirable diagnostic criteria for digestive cancers. Therefore, the immune response and Immunoscore evaluation within the tumor microenvironment is clinically relevant. In addition, the evaluation of the Immunoscore in stage III colon cancer patients from the IDEA France clinical trial evaluating 3 versus 6 months of oxaliplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy demonstrated the predictive value of Immunoscore for treatment duration. Immunoscore predicted response to 6 months FOLFOX chemotherapy both in low- and high-risk Stage III patients. Low-risk patients (T_1-3, N₁) with High-Immunoscore had the 3-year DFS of 91.4% when treated with the 6-month FOLFOX, and only 80.8% with the 3-month regimen. The international validation of the prognostic value of the consensus Immunoscore together with its predictive value to guide treatment provides important information for the personalized management of colon cancer patients.

Metastasis immune-based scores predict patient survival

Treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer is based upon the assumption that metastases are homogeneous within a patient. A comprehensive analysis of all metastases of each patient revealed the heterogeneity of the colorectal metastatic disease and its clinical impact. Complex tumor-immune interrelations shape the metastatic landscape. Adaptive immune cells and Immunoscore quantified in a random metastatic biopsy predict clinical outcome and their evaluation in the tumor microenvironment of the least infiltrated metastasis most accurately predict long-term survival. The adaptive immune cell infiltration was more informative than tumor regression and pathological response to predict long-term survival. These results highlight the clinical utility of Immunoscore for patient management. The immune response within the tumor microenvironment is an essential diagnostic criterion for colorectal cancer that has recently been integrated into the international WHO classification of Digestive System Tumors.

The consensus Immunoscore in phase 3 clinical trial (N0147) and impact on patient management decisions

The consensus Immunoscore is a routine assay quantifying the adaptive immune response within the tumor microenvironment. It has a prognostic value that has been confirmed in a phase 3 clinical trial (NCCTG N0147) in stage III colon cancers. Moreover, results from another phase 3 randomized trial revealed the predictive value of Immunoscore for response to adjuvant chemotherapy duration. These results highlight the clinical utility of Immunoscore. In its latest edition, the World Health Organization classification of Digestive System Tumors introduced for the first time the immune response as an essential and desirable diagnostic criterion for colorectal cancer. Within the tumor microenvironment, the immune response provides an important estimate of the risk of recurrence and death in colon cancer. The international validation of the prognostic value of the consensus Immunoscore together with its prognostic value in the N0147 trial and its predictive utility for response to chemotherapy in stage III patients provide valuable information for patient management.

The consensus immunoscore: toward a new classification of colorectal cancer

In its latest edition, the WHO classification of the Digestive System Tumors introduced for the first time the immune response as essential and desirable diagnostic criteria for colorectal cancer. The immune response within the tumor microenvironment is therefore clinically relevant. The consensus Immunoscore has a prognostic value that has been confirmed in a meta-analysis on more than 10,000 patients, and it provides a reliable estimate of the recurrence risk in colon cancer. The international validation of the prognostic value of the consensus Immunoscore for time to recurrence, disease-free survival and overall survival in colon cancer together with its predictive value of response to chemotherapy provides valuable information for patient care management.

The local inflammatory response in colorectal cancer - Type, location or density? A systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

The host anti-tumour inflammatory response is a strong prognostic indicator, and tumour infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are believed to have a complimentary role alongside TNM assessment in dictating future management. However, there is wide disagreement regarding the most efficacious and cost-effective method of assessment.

METHODS

A comprehensive literature search was performed of EMBASE, MedLine and PubMed as well as an assessment of references to identify all relevant studies relating to the assessment of the peri-tumoural inflammatory response or TILs and prognosis in colorectal cancer (CRC). A meta-analysis was performed of 67 studies meeting the REMARK criteria using RevMan software.

RESULTS

Intratumoural assessment of both CD3 and CD8 in CRC were significant for disease-free survival (DFS) (combined HRs 0.46; 95%CI: 0.39-0.54 and 0.54; 95%CI: 0.45-0.65), as well as overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS). The same was true for assessment of CD3 and CD8 at the invasive margin (DFS: combined HRs 0.45; 95%CI: 0.33-0.61 and 0.51; 95%CI: 0.41-0.62). However, similar fixed effects summaries were also observed for H&E-based methods, like Klintrup-Makinen grade (DFS: HR 0.62; 95%CI: 0.43-0.88). Furthermore, inflammatory assessments were independent of MSI status.

CONCLUSION

The evidence suggests that it is the density of a co-ordinated local inflammatory infiltrate that confers survival benefit, rather than any individual immune cell subtype. Furthermore, the location of individual cells within the tumour microenvironment does not appear to influence survival. The authors advocate a standardised assessment of the local inflammatory response, but caution against emphasizing the importance of any individual immune cell subtype.

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in primary tumors of colorectal cancer and their metastases

The presence of tumor cells in the large intestine stimulates hypoxia and local inflammatory mediators that activate numerous inflammatory cells, including a diverse lymphoid tumor cell population. The aim of the present study was to evaluate tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) located in the invasive primary tumor, surrounding deposits of tumor cells and those present in distal metastatic cells in the liver of patients with colorectal cancer. Furthermore, the correlation of TILs with anatomical parameters was assessed. The study group included 123 patients with primary tumor colorectal cancer without distant metastasis, 25 cases with deposits of colorectal cancer cells and 15 cases of colorectal cancer liver metastasis. TILs were assessed in tissues stained with hematoxylin-eosin using light microscopy and evaluated by two independent pathologists blinded to the clinical information. Infiltration of TILs in the invasive front of primary tumor was stronger compared with those surrounding deposits of cancer cells and liver metastases (P<0.001). TILs in the invasive front of primary tumor masses were associated with various variables linked with tumor progression and inflammatory cell infiltrate. TILs distributed around the deposits of cancer cells were associated with postoperative treatment; however, those localized in the invasive front of liver metastases were correlated with preoperative therapy. In conclusion, TILs assessment in primary tumors of colorectal cancer, surrounding deposits of tumor cells and in the metastatic cells in the liver may be helpful in understanding the role of these cells in the organization of immune response.

Greater negative lymph node count predicts favorable survival of patients with breast cancer in the setting of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and mastectomy

Aim: Adequate lymph node evaluation is recommended in patients with malignant tumors. However, the role of negative lymph nodes (NLNs) remains unclear in breast cancer (BC), especially in patients who have received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and mastectomy. Materials & methods: A total of 435 patients were included in the analysis. On multivariate analysis, NLN count was an independent predictor of 5 year disease-free survival and 5 year overall survival. Results: Patients with NLN count <10 showed significantly worse 5 year disease-free survival than those with NLN count ≥10 (34.8 and 78.2%; p = 0.000); the corresponding 5 year overall survival rates were also significantly different (52.0 and 82.7%; p = 0.000). Conclusion: This is the first study that confirms the relationship between NLN count and prognosis of patients in the setting of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and mastectomy. More NLNs imply better prognosis.

Alterations in the inflammatory cells infiltrating basal cell carcinomas during immunocryosurgery

Immunocryosurgery, the combination modality of a cryosurgery session at day 14 of a 5-week daily imiquimod treatment cycle, has shown remarkable efficacy in the treatment of basal cell carcinoma (BCC). The modality was designed to exploit synergy of antitumor effects, including the induction of immune responses, elicited by imiquimod and cryosurgery. Herein, we report on the infiltration of the BCC by selected inflammatory cell species during an immunocryosurgery treatment cycle. The density of tissue infiltrating CD68⁺, CD3⁺ and Foxp3⁺ cells was studied by immunohistochemistry in 56 BCC biopsies from 28 treated sites (26 patients) at baseline and at days 12, 16 or 28 during treatment. Immunocryosurgery induces statistically significant alterations in all three cell species (p < 0.003): The density of CD68⁺ increased already by day 12 and remained at a higher level during the treatment thereafter. The density of CD3⁺ cells increased significantly between days 12 and 16 of treatment. The density of T_reg (Foxp3⁺) cells increased in the early phase of treatment (highest at day 12) to decrease significantly already 2 days after the cryosurgery session (day 16) and thereafter up to day 28 of the treatment cycle (p = 0.033). Within the tumor tissue, these alterations result in an abrupt increase in the CD3⁺/Foxp3⁺ ratio, a finding suggesting that the cryosurgical perturbation may probably play a decisive modulating role in the cellular composition of the inflammatory infiltrate during immunocryosurgery, eventually heralding the induction of an effective tumor-destructing immune response.

Prognostic role of tumour-infiltrating T lymphocytes in stage IIA (T3N0) colon cancer: A broad methodological study in a fairly homogeneous population

AIM

Tumour-infiltrating T lymphocytes (TIL) are considered to be a reliable prognostic marker in CC, but the use in daily practice is unclear. We investigated the survival effect of TIL methodologically in a highly homogeneous population.

METHODS

Seventy-two stage IIA (T3N0) CC patients who underwent surgical resection from 2000 to 2014 were included. CD3 and CD8 were separately scored for different blocks, areas and foci. To the best of our knowledge, this study has the most comprehensive methodology in the literature.

RESULTS

Foremost, we searched for the optimal evaluation method. We found better results with Model A (deepest invasive block&hot spot area&invasive margin focus), e.g. for CD3, the relationship with prognostic factors [Crohn's-like reaction (p = 0.015), positive surgical margin (p = 0.019), Mismatch repair proteins deficiency (p = 0.003), advanced grade (p = 0.015)], the correlation of distinct estimates (r = 0.708), the reproducibility of research (Κappa = 0.60-0.71), and the usefulness of cut-off value (area of under ROC = 0.800 [0.683-0.917]) were best. Then, survival analysis was performed with two better methods including Model A. In univariate analysis, low TIL with Model A was associated with worse OS (CD3, p < 0.001; CD8, p = 0.023) and RFS (CD3, p < 0.001; CD8, p = 0.005). Multivariate analyses confirmed low TIL with same method as an independent worse prognostic marker for OS (CD3, Hazard ratio [HR] = 1.42 [1.10-1.85], p = 0.005) and RFS (CD3, HR = 1.46 [1.17-1.83], p = 0.001; CD8, HR = 1.32 [1.05-1.64], p = 0.032).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results confirm that low TIL is an independent worse prognostic marker in stage IIA (T3N0) CC and that the use of CD3 with Model A can contribute to improving the prognostication of early CCs.

Modified American Joint Committee on Cancer Tumor-Node-Metastasis Staging System Based on the Node Ratio Can Further Improve the Capacity of Prognosis Assessment for Gastric Cancer Patients

Background and Objectives: Our aim was to investigate whether the modified American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging system based on the node ratio can further improve the capacity of prognosis assessment for gastric cancer (GC) patients regardless of the number of lymph nodes examined (eLNs).

Methods: A total of 17,187 GC patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were included. On the basis of a training set of 7,660 GC patients, we built the tumor-node ratio-metastasis (TNrM) staging system, which was then externally validated with a validation set of 9,527 GC patients.

Results: For the training set, the C-index value of the TNrM staging system was significantly higher than that of the AJCC 8th TNM staging system to predict survival for GC patients (C-index: 0.688 vs. 0.671, P < 0.001). Moreover, the C-index value of the TNrM staging system was significantly higher than that of the 8th TNM staging system to predict survival for GC patients with ≤15 eLNs (C-index: 0.682 vs. 0.673, P < 0.001), as well as for GC patients with >15 eLNs (C-index: 0.700 vs. 0.694, P < 0.001). Similar results were found in the validation set.

Conclusions: The TNrM staging system predicted survival more accurately and discriminatively than the AJCC 8th TNM staging system for GC patients regardless of the number of eLNs.

Prognostic Value of the Number of Lymph Nodes Examined in Patients with Node-Negative Gastric Cancer

BACKGROUND

Our aim was to evaluate the prognostic value of the number of lymph nodes examined (eLNs) in patients with node-negative gastric cancer (GC) and further to adjust the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 8th staging system based on the number of eLNs.

METHODS

Node-negative GC patients diagnosed during 1988-2015 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were included. On the basis of a primary cohort of 4159 node-negative GC patients, we built the adjusted AJCC 8th staging system, which was then internally validated by a bootstrap method, and externally validated with an independent cohort of 5565 node-negative GC patients.

RESULTS

The median number of eLNs was 10. For the training set, the optimal eLNs thresholds were determined to be 9 for node-negative GC patients. The adjusted AJCC 8th staging system for node-negative GC patients based on the number of eLNs had a significantly higher Harrell's concordance index than the initial AJCC 8th staging system (C-index, 0.635 versus 0.616; P < 0.001). Thus, the adjusted AJCC 8th staging system had superior prognostic stratification. Similar results were found in the validation set.

CONCLUSIONS

For node-negative GC patients in the United States, the adjusted AJCC 8th staging system based on the number of eLNs predicted survival more accurately and discriminatively.

RAS status and neoadjuvant chemotherapy impact CD8+ cells and tumor HLA class I expression in liver metastatic colorectal cancer

Background

T lymphocytes and HLA expression on tumor cell both influence prognostic of localized colorectal cancer, but their role following chemotherapy in patients with liver metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) was not addressed.

Methods

One hundred fourteen patients treated in curative intend of liver mCRC were included in this retrospective study. Patients were either untreated or treated with neoadjuvant therapy containing an anti-EGFR, bevacizumab or oxaliplatin. Immune densities were quantified in the tumor core and in invasive margin of metastases, using Qupath software or a pathologist’s quantification. CD8, NKp46, Foxp3, CD163, HLA, PD-L1 were analyzed and were correlated with progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models.

Results

In the whole cohort only a high CD8+ cells infiltrate, a high HLA-I expression and wild-type RAS/RAF status were associated with a better overall survival in both univariate and multivariate model. Moreover, CD8+ cells immune infiltrate at invasive margin combined to HLA expression in cancer cell could increase patient’s outcome prediction. RAS status but not immune cell infiltrate was associated with HLA expression on tumor cells. In comparison to untreated patients, neoadjuvant chemotherapy induced CD8+ cells recruitment and increased PD-L1 staining in immune infiltrates only for WT RAS patients. In this context, anti-EGFR and oxaliplatin based chemotherapy are the most powerful to induce CD8+ cells mobilization within the metastatic site.

Conclusions

While CD8 infiltrate and HLA expression appear to be prognostic for mCRC, CD8 and PD-L1 infiltrate are enhanced by neoadjuvant chemotherapy in mCRC under RAS status dependence.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s40425-018-0438-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Adoptive Cell Transfer: Is it a Promising Immunotherapy for Colorectal Cancer?

The last decade has witnessed significant advances in the adoptive cell transfer (ACT) technique, which has been appreciated as one of the most promising treatments for patients with cancer. Utilization of ACT can enhance the function of the immune system or improve the specificity and persistence of transferred cells. Various immune cells including T lymphocytes, natural killer cells, dendritic cells, and even stem cells can be used in the ACT despite their different functional mechanisms. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is among the most common malignancies and causes millions of deaths worldwide every year. In this review, we discuss the status and perspective of the ACT in the treatment of CRC.

Tumour Lymphocytic Infiltration, Its Structure and Influence in Colorectal Cancer Progression

BACKGROUND:

The role of the immune system in the control of tumour progression has been stressed, recently. Many studies indicate the fact that the immune system can prevent tumour progression in several types of human malignant neoplasms including colorectal cancer. According to some authors, a higher density of “tumour-associated lymphocytes” (TAL), in malignant neoplasms, correlate with prolonged survival of patients.

AIM:

This study aims to determine the structure and the influence of the immune cells, TAL, in the progression of colorectal cancer (CRC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

The study included 103 patients with CRC operated at the University Clinic of Digestive Surgery in Skopje, whose operative material was analysed at the Institute of Pathology, Medical Faculty in Skopje. The structure of tumor-associated cells and their density were determined and were correlated with neoplasm’s grade, local growth (T), positive lymph nodes, lymphatic invasion and stage of the disease.

RESULTS:

CD4+, CD8+ and CD20+ lymphocytes (Ly) were found in TAL. The density of TAL was significantly different in neoplasms with different T status, lymphatic invasion, patients with and without nodal metastasis and patients with a different stage of the disease. The density of CD4+, CD8+, and CD20+ cells were significantly different in neoplasms with different T. The density of CD8+ and CD20+ lymphocytes was lower in patients with nodal metastasis and higher stage.

CONCLUSION:

The density of tumor-associated lymphocytes can anticipate the disease progression in patients with colorectal cancer, and the density of TAL influences the control of tumour progression.

Increasing negative lymph node count predicts favorable OS and DSS in breast cancer with different lymph node-positive subgroups

Adequate lymph node evaluation is recommended for optimal staging in patients with malignant neoplasms including breast cancer. However, the role of negative lymph nodes (LNs) remains unclear in breast cancer according to N substage (N1, N2, and N3). In this study, for the first time, we analyzed the prognostic significance of negative LNs in breast cancer patients. A critical relationship was observed between negative LN count and survival, independent of patient characteristics and other related molecular variables including estrogen receptor (PR) status, progesterone receptor (ER) status, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status, depth of tumor invasion and degree of differentiation. This research is of great importance in providing more information about the prognosis of breast cancer by statistical analysis of negative lymph nodes and can serve as a useful supplement to the current pathological system.

Negative to positive lymph node ratio is a superior predictor than traditional lymph node status in stage III colorectal cancer

Negative lymph node counts has recently attracted attention as a prognostic indicator in colorectal cancer (CRC). But little is known about prognostic significance of negative to positive lymph node ratio (NPR) in CRC. Our aim was to determine impact of NPR on oncological outcomes in patients with stage III CRC. This retrospective study included 2,256 patients with stage III CRC under curative resection at Fudan university Shanghai cancer center. Kaplan-Meier methods and multivariable Cox regression models were built for the analysis of survival outcomes and risk factors. Accuracy of the NPR was assessed with the Harrell's concordance-index(C-index).X-tile program identified 2.38 or 0.55/2.38 as the optimal cutoff value for NPR to divide the cohort into high/low risk or high/middle/low risk subsets in terms of CRC cause specific survival (CCSS). In a multivariate analysis, NPR was significant independent prognostic factors for CCSS (P<0.05), notably, N classification was not an independently prognostic factor (P>0.05). Further analysis found NPR could give detailed prognostic classification for both N1 and N2 stage (P<0.05). Interestingly, patients in N2+ NPR >2.38 stage have similar survival outcome with N1+ NPR >2.38 stage (χ2=0.030, P=0.863), and better than those at N1+ NPR ≤2.38 and N2+ NPR ≤2.38 stage (P<0.001). The TN_NPRM stage was more accurate for predicting CCSS (C-index = 0.659) than current TNM stage system(C-index = 0.628) (P<0.001). Collectively, NPR was an independent prognostic factor for stage III CRC patients, it could provide more accurate prognostic information than the current node stage system.

The prognostic value of lymph nodes count on survival of patients with node-negative gastric cancer

The retrieved lymph node (LN) count has been validated as a prognostic factor in various cancers. However, the interaction between LN counts and patients' prognosis in gastric cancer with negative-LN metastasis is not fully studied. Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER)-registered gastric cancer patients were used for analysis in this study. Patients operated on for gastric cancer at N0 stage between 2004 and 2012 were identified from the SEER database. The association between the LN counts and survival was assessed using the Cox proportional hazards model. Patients were stratified into 1–4, 5−13, and > 13 subgroups according to LN count cut-off values determined by X-tile program, with the 5-year cause specific survival (CSS) rate of 64.8%, 72.5%, and 79.4%, respectively. LN count was also validated as an independently prognostic factor in multivariate Cox analysis (P < 0.001). In addition, nomograms including LN counts on CSS were established according to all significant factors, and the c-index was 0.703 (95% CI: 0.672−0.734). Further study indicated that patients with no LN metastasis had a decreased risk of death for each patient with LN examined up to approximately 14 LNs. Collectively, our study firmly demonstrated that the number of the retrieved LNs count was an independent prognostic factor for gastric cancer with no LN metastasis. The higher the LN count, the better the survival would be; the best CSS was observed on the LN count more than 14.

Increased number of negative lymph nodes is associated with improved survival outcome in node positive gastric cancer following radical gastrectomy

The concept of negative lymph node (NLN) counts has recently attracted attention as a prognostic indicator in various cancer. However, the correlation between NLN counts and patient prognosis in the setting of gastric cancer is not fully studied. Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER)-registered gastric cancer patients were used for analysis in this study. Clinicopathological characteristics, including race, age, gender, and tumor stage, grade, and cause specific survival were collected. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards model were used to assess the risk factors for survival. As results, X-tile plots identified 3 and 9 as the optimal cutoff value to divide the patients into high, middle and low risk subsets in terms of cause specific survival, and NLN was validated as independently prognostic factor in mulivariate Cox analysis (P < 0.001). Further analysis showed that NLN was a prognosis factor in each N stage. Collectively, our study results firmly demonstrated that the number of NLNs was an independent prognostic factor for gastric cancer patients, and together with the N stage, it could provide more accurate prognostic information than the N stage alone.

Lack of MHC class II molecules favors CD8+ T-cell infiltration into tumors associated with an increased control of tumor growth

Regulatory T-cells (Tregs) are crucial for the maintenance of immune tolerance and homeostasis as well as for preventing autoimmune diseases, but their impact on the survival of cancer patients remains controversial. In the TC-1 mouse model of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related carcinoma, we have previously demonstrated that the therapeutic efficacy of the CyaA-E7-vaccine, targeting the HPV-E7 antigen, progressively declines with tumor growth, in correlation with increased intratumoral recruitment of Tregs. In the present study, we demonstrated that these TC-1 tumor-infiltrating Tregs were highly activated, with increased expression of immunosuppressive molecules. Both intratumoral effector CD4⁺ T-cells (Teffs) and Tregs expressed high levels of PD-1, but anti-PD-1 antibody treatment did not impact the growth of the TC-1 tumor nor restore the therapeutic effect of the CyaA-E7 vaccine. To analyze the mechanisms by which Tregs are recruited to the tumor site, we used MHC-II KO mice with drastically reduced numbers of CD4⁺ effector T-cells. We demonstrated that these mice still had significant numbers of Tregs in their lymphoid organs which were recruited to the tumor. In MHC-II KO mice, the growth of the TC-1 tumor was delayed in correlation with a strong increase in the intratumoral recruitment of CD8⁺ T-cells. In addition, in mice that spontaneously rejected their tumors, the infiltration of E7-specific CD8⁺ T-cells was significantly higher than in MHC-II KO mice with a growing tumor. These results demonstrate that tumor-specific CD8⁺ T-cells can be efficiently activated and recruited in the absence of MHC class II molecules and of CD4⁺ T-cell help.

Stromal and intraepithelial tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in colorectal carcinoma

The local mechanisms of antitumor immune defense determine the development and organization of the tumor microenvironment, and the composition and relative proportions of the inflammatory cell population affect the quality and characteristics of the immune response. The aim of the present study was to conduct a quantitative morphological evaluation of two types of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TILs) populations, including those located in the stroma and intraepithelial cancer structures, in the invasive front and the center of the tumor in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). The study included 160 patients with CRC who had undergone surgery. The tissue material was stained with hematoxylin and eosin, as used in routine histopathological diagnosis, and the two TIL populations were observed and counted with light microscopy. The relative extent of infiltration of stromal and intraepithelial TILs into the front and center of the primary tumors was similar. The extent of infiltration by stromal TILs was negatively correlated with the morphological features of tumor progression including the cancer infiltration of blood vessels (P=0.016), the invasion of lymph vessels (P=0.007), perineural invasion (P=0.036), lymph node involvement (P=0.047) and distant metastases (P=0.032). The infiltration by intraepithelial TILs was positively correlated with a desmoplastic reaction (P=0.002). Disease-free survival time was statistically shorter in patients without intraepithelial TILs in the center of the primary tumor mass (P=0.049; hazard ratio = 1.45). These results confirm that the infiltration of TILs into the invasive front and center of the tumor in patients with CRC serves an important role in the invasion and progression of the disease, and should be considered in routine histopathological examinations.

Immunogenomic Classification of Colorectal Cancer and Therapeutic Implications

The immune system has a substantial effect on colorectal cancer (CRC) progression. Additionally, the response to immunotherapeutics and conventional treatment options (e.g., chemotherapy, radiotherapy and targeted therapies) is influenced by the immune system. The molecular characterization of colorectal cancer (CRC) has led to the identification of favorable and unfavorable immunological attributes linked to clinical outcome. With the definition of consensus molecular subtypes (CMSs) based on transcriptomic profiles, multiple characteristics have been proposed to be responsible for the development of the tumor immune microenvironment and corresponding mechanisms of immune escape. In this review, a detailed description of proposed immune phenotypes as well as their interaction with different therapeutic modalities will be provided. Finally, possible strategies to shift the CRC immune phenotype towards a reactive, anti-tumor orientation are proposed per CMS.

Colorectal cancer cells suppress CD4+ T cells immunity through canonical Wnt signaling

Understanding how colorectal cancer escapes from immunosurveillance and immune attack is important for developing novel immunotherapies for colorectal cancer. In this study we evaluated the role of canonical Wnt signaling in the regulation of T cell function in a mouse colorectal cancer model. We found that colorectal cancer cells expressed abundant Wnt ligands, and intratumoral T cells expressed various Frizzled proteins. Meanwhile, both active β-catenin and total β-catenin were elevated in intratumoral T cells. In vitro study indicated that colorectal cancer cells suppressed IFN-γ expression and increased IL-17a expression in activated CD4⁺ T cells. However, the cytotoxic activity of CD8⁺ T cells was not altered by colorectal cancer cells. To further evaluate the importance of Wnt signaling for CD4⁺ T cell-mediated cancer immunity, β-catenin expression was enforced in CD4⁺ T cells using lentiviral transduction. In an adoptive transfer model, enforced expression of β-catenin in intratumoral CD4⁺ T cells increased IL-17a expression, enhanced proliferation and inhibited apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells. Taken together, our study disclosed a new mechanism by which colorectal cancer impairs T cell immunity.

Peritumoral cuffing by T-cell tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes distinguishes HPV-related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma from oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

It is unclear why human papillomavirus (HPV)-related head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has improved clinical behavior compared to HPV-negative HNSCC. We sought to better characterize the immune microenvironment of tongue cancers by examining the CD3 and CD8 TIL pattern in HPV-positive and HPV-negative tumors.

METHODS

Histologic sections from 40 oral tongue and oropharyngeal cases were analyzed (n=21 HPV DNA-positive, n=19 HPV DNA-negative). CD3 and CD8 T-cell immunostaining were performed on whole-slide sections to quantify tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) density and assess its morphology.

RESULTS

A subset of cases (HPV-positive) displayed a unique TIL pattern consisting of circumferential peritumoral population T cells, which was absent in the HPV-negative cases. The presence of peritumoral cuffing was strongly predictive of improved recurrence-free survival compared to cases that lacked this morphologic pattern of immune infiltrate. Four HPV-positive cases lacked the pattern, including two cases with disease recurrence.

CONCLUSIONS

For the first time, we show an architectural pattern of immune infiltrate in HNSCC is seen exclusively in HPV-positive patients with improved recurrence-free survival and suggests an organized host immunological response contributes to disease control.

A STING Agonist Given with OX40 Receptor and PD-L1 Modulators Primes Immunity and Reduces Tumor Growth in Tolerized Mice

Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) signaling induces IFNβ production by intratumoral dendritic cells (DC), driving T-cell priming and recruitment into the tumor microenvironment (TME). We examined to what extent preexisting antigen-specific tolerance influenced the efficacy of in situ delivery of a potent STING-activating cyclic dinucleotide (CDN), ADU S-100, against established HER-2⁺ breast tumors. ADU S-100 induced HER-2-specific CD8⁺ T-cell priming and durable tumor clearance in 100% of nontolerant parental FVB/N mice. In contrast, ADU S-100 did not sufficiently prime HER-2-specific CD8⁺ T cells in tolerant neu/N mice, resulting in only delayed tumor growth and tumor clearance in 10% of the mice. No differences in IFNβ production, DC priming, or HER-2-specific CD8⁺ T-cell trafficking were detected between FVB/N and neu/N mice. However, activation and expansion of HER-2-specific CD8⁺ T cells were defective in neu/N mice. Immune cell infiltrates of untreated tumor-bearing neu/N mice expressed high numbers of PD1 and OX40 receptors on their CD8⁺ T cells, and PD-L1 was highly expressed on both myeloid and tumor cells. Modulating PD-L1 and OX40 receptor signaling combined with intratumoral ADU S-100 administration enhanced HER-2-specific CD8⁺ T-cell activity, clearing tumors in 40% of neu/N mice. Thus, intratumoral STING agonists could potently prime tumor antigen-specific CD8⁺ T-cell responses, and adding PD-L1 blockade and OX40 receptor activation can overcome antigen-enforced immune tolerance to induce tumor regression. Cancer Immunol Res; 5(6); 468-79. ©2017 AACR.

HLA-DR expression in tumor epithelium is an independent prognostic indicator in esophageal adenocarcinoma patients

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is an aggressive cancer with poor prognosis, and incidence is increasing rapidly in the Western world. Measurement of immune markers has been shown to have prognostic significance in a growing number of cancers, but whether this is true for EAC has yet to be evaluated. This study aimed to characterize HLA-DR expression in the esophagus across the inflammation to cancer progression sequence and to assess the prognostic significance of HLA-DR expression in EAC. Tissue microarrays (TMA) were constructed from esophageal tissue taken from patients at different stages in the cancer progression sequence; normal, esophagitis, Barrett’s esophagus (BE), low- and high-grade dysplasia (LGD, HGD) and EAC. HLA-DR expression in tissue epithelium and stroma was assessed by immunohistochemistry. HLA-DR expression increased early in the inflammation to cancer progression sequence; with higher expression detected in esophagitis and BE compared to normal tissue. Patients with low (<50%) HLA-DR expression in the EAC tumor epithelium had significantly worse survival outcomes, compared to those with high expression, in both the tumor core (hazard ratio, HR = 2.178, p = 0.024, n = 70) and leading edge (HR = 2.86, p = 0.013, n = 41). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that low HLA-DR expression in leading edge tumor epithelium was an independent predictor of poor survival, associated with a 2.8-fold increase in disease-associated death (p = 0.023). This study shows that HLA-DR is an independent prognostic marker in EAC tumor epithelium. This may have implications for patient stratification strategies as well as EAC tumor immunology.