Clinical Impact of Tumor-Infiltrating Inflammatory Cells in Primary Small Cell Esophageal Carcinoma

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Yuling Zhang⁴  Hongzheng Ren¹  Lu Wang²  Zhifeng Ning²  Yixuan Zhuang³  Jinfeng Gan²  Shaobin Chen⁶  David Zhou⁷  Hua Zhu⁸  Dongfeng Tan⁵ 

[1] Department of Pathology, the Central Hospital of Kaifeng, Kaifeng 475000, China; E-Mail:;Department of Biotherapy and Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou 515031, China; E-Mails:;Tumor Tissue Bank, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou 515031, China; E-Mail:;Department of Information, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou 515031, China; E-Mail:;Department of Pathology, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; E-Mail:;Department of Thoracic Surgery, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou 515031, China; E-Mail:;Department of Pathology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA; E-Mail:;Department of Surgery, Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; E-Mail:

关键词: primary small cell esophageal carcinoma;    tumor associated macrophages;    tumor associated eosinophils;    prognosis;    tumor infiltrating lymphocytes;    esophageal squamous cell carcinoma;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms15069718

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Primary small cell esophageal carcinoma is a rare and aggressive type of gastrointestinal cancer with poor prognosis. In the present study, the impact of tumour infiltrating inflammatory cells on clinico-pathological characteristics and the patients’ prognosis were analysed. A total of 36 small cell esophageal carcinomas, 19 adjacent normal tissues and 16 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma samples were collected. Qualified pathologists examined eosinophils, neutrophils, lymphocytes and macrophages on histochemical slides. The infiltration of eosinophils and macrophages in small cell esophageal carcinoma was significantly increased as compared with tumor adjacent normal tissues, and was significantly less in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Macrophage count was significantly associated with (p = 0.015) lymph node—stage in small cell esophageal carcinoma. When we grouped patients into two groups by counts of infiltrated inflammatory cells, Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that high macrophage infiltration group (p = 0.004) and high eosinophil infiltration group (p = 0.027) had significantly enhanced survival. In addition, multivariate analysis unveiled that eosinophil count (p = 0.002) and chemotherapy (Yes vs. No, p = 0.001) were independent prognostic indicators. Taken together, infiltration of macrophages and eosinophils into the solid tumor appear to be important in the progression of small cell esophageal carcinoma and patients’ prognosis.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.