Abstract
BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to clarify the prognostic significance of peritumoral lymphocyte infiltration in the capsule of soft tissue sarcomas (STS). Multiple observations in preclinical and clinical studies have shown that the immune system has a role in controlling tumor growth and progression. Prognostic markers in potentially curable STS should guide therapy after surgical resection. The immune status at the time of resection may be important, but the prognostic significance of peritumoral lymphocytes is unknown.MethodsTissue microarrays from 80 patients with STS were constructed from duplicate cores of tissue from the tumor and the peritumoral capsule. Immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate the CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ and CD20+ lymphocytes in the tumor and the peritumoral capsule.ResultsIn univariate analyses, increasing numbers of CD20+ (P = 0.032) peritumoral lymphocytes were associated with a reduced disease free survival (DSS). In multivariate analyses, a high number of CD20+ peritumoral lymphocytes (P = 0.030) in the capsule was an independent negative prognostic factor for DSS. There were no such associations of lymphocyte infiltration in the tumor.ConclusionsA high density of CD20+ peritumoral lymphocytes is an independent negative prognostic indicator for patients with STS. Further research is needed to determine whether CD20 cells in the peritumoral capsule of STS may promote tumor invasion in the surrounding tissue and increase the metastatic potential.
Highlights
The purpose of this study was to clarify the prognostic significance of peritumoral lymphocyte infiltration in the capsule of soft tissue sarcomas (STS)
In a previous paper we reported the prognostic significance of lymphocyte infiltration in tumors [11]
In this study, we evaluate the prognostic impact of CD3 +, CD4+, CD8+ and CD20+ lymphocytes in the peritumoral capsule and associations with clinico-pathological variables in 80 non-GIST STS
Summary
The purpose of this study was to clarify the prognostic significance of peritumoral lymphocyte infiltration in the capsule of soft tissue sarcomas (STS). Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are relatively rare heterogeneous malignancies of mesenchymal origin with a high mortality rate. They comprise less than 1% of adult malignancies [1]. There are several prognostic factors that determine tumour progression and, a patients’ fate. These include tumour grade, size, location, depth, histological entity, positive resection margins, and presence of local recurrence [3,4,5,6,7,8,9].
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