Emerging roles of neutrophils in the prognosis of colorectal cancer

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most frequent and lethal cancers in Mexico and the world. It is noteworthy that globally, the incidence of CRC is increasing at a rate of 2% per year in patients younger than 50 years of age. Its early detection, primarily based on colonoscopy screening starting at 45 years of age, is an essential weapon to reduce its mortality. When CRC is detected, the treatment is surgical; however, the pathology reports and biomedical research on the tumor microenvironment may offer new parameters that could serve as prognostic biomarkers. In this respect, the presence or absence of neutrophils associated with neoplastic tissues may indicate their prognostic relevance for the disease. Although this field is still controversial, our recently published evidence suggests that the presence of neutrophils with an anti-tumoral phenotype, particularly at the invasive margin of the colon tumors, could indicate a favorable prognosis. This emerging information suggests that the characterization of immune cells, particularly neutrophils, could contribute to assessing the evolution of CRC and identifying patients at increased risk of recurrences. In this article, we discuss relevant points that should be addressed when interpreting neutrophil-related data in the context of CRC.