Background: Patients with resected colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) who display only the desmoplastic histopathological growth pattern (dHGP) exhibit superior survival compared to patients with any non-desmoplastic growth (non-dHGP). The aim of this study was to compare the tumour microenvironment between dHGP and non-dHGP. Methods: The tumour microenvironment was investigated in three cohorts of chemo-naive patients surgically treated for CRLM. In cohort A semi-quantitative immunohistochemistry was performed, in cohort B intratumoural and peritumoural T cells were counted using immunohistochemistry and digital image analysis, and in cohort C the relative proportions of individual T cell subsets were determined by flow cytometry. Results: One hundred and seventeen, 34, and 79 patients were included in cohorts A, B, and C, with dHGP being observed in 27%, 29%, and 15% of patients, respectively. Cohorts A and B independently demonstrated peritumoural and intratumoural enrichment of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in dHGP, as well as a higher CD8+/CD4+ ratio (cohort A). Flow cytometric analysis of fresh tumour tissues in cohort C confirmed these results; dHGP was associated with higher CD8+ and lower CD4+ T cell subsets, resulting in a higher CD8+/CD4+ ratio. Conclusion: The tumour microenvironment of patients with dHGP is characterised by an increased and distinctly cytotoxic immune infiltrate, providing a potential explanation for their superior survival.

doi.org/10.1038/s41416-020-0881-z, hdl.handle.net/1765/127764
British Journal of Cancer

Höppener, D.J. (Diederik J.), Nierop, P.M.H. (Pieter M. H.), Hof, J. (Joost), Sideras, K., Zhou, G., Visser, L., … Verhoef, K. (2020). Enrichment of the tumour immune microenvironment in patients with desmoplastic colorectal liver metastasis. British Journal of Cancer. doi:10.1038/s41416-020-0881-z