Infiltration of regulatory T lymphocyte into different parts of colon carcinoma and clinical implication

Abstract

Objective To investigate the correlation between tumor-infiltrating regulatory T cells (Tregs) in different parts of colon carcinoma and the clinical prognostic values.Methods The distribution of tumor-infiltrating Tregs in the cancer nest,cancer stroma and normal mucosa of 90 cases of colon carcinoma was detected by using tissue microarray and immunohistochemistry staining technique,and its correlation with the overall survival (OS) was analyzed.Results The average number of intratumoral Tregs was significantly greater than that in corresponding normal mucosa tissues (P ＜ 0.01) ; the average number of Tregs in cancer nest was significantly less than that in corresponding cancer stroma tissues (P ＜ 0.01) ; the number of intratumoral Tregs was positively correlated with OS (P ＜ 0.05) ; the number of Tregs in cancer nest was negatively correlated with OS (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion The number of tumor-infiltrating Tregs is closely associated with the prognosis of colon carcinoma.The Tregs in cancer nest are promising independent predictor for OS in colon carcinoma. Key words: Colon carcinoma; Regulatory T cells