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Polack M, Smit MA, van Pelt GW, Roodvoets AGH, Meershoek-Klein Kranenbarg E, Putter H, Gelderblom H, Crobach ASLP, Terpstra V, Petrushevska G, Gašljević G, Kjær-Frifeldt S, de Cuba EMV, Bulkmans NWJ, Vink GR, Al Dieri R, Tollenaar RAEM, van Krieken JHJM, Mesker WE. Results from the UNITED study: a multicenter study validating the prognostic effect of the tumor-stroma ratio in colon cancer. ESMO Open 2024; 9:102988. [PMID: 38613913 PMCID: PMC11033069 DOI: 10.1016/j.esmoop.2024.102988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2024] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/15/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The TNM (tumor-node-metastasis) Evaluation Committee of Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and College of American Pathologists (CAP) recommended to prospectively validate the cost-effective and robust tumor-stroma ratio (TSR) as an independent prognostic parameter, since high intratumor stromal percentages have previously predicted poor patient-related outcomes. PATIENTS AND METHODS The 'Uniform Noting for International application of Tumor-stroma ratio as Easy Diagnostic tool' (UNITED) study enrolled patients in 27 participating centers in 12 countries worldwide. The TSR, categorized as stroma-high (>50%) or stroma-low (≤50%), was scored through standardized microscopic assessment by certified pathologists, and effect on disease-free survival (DFS) was evaluated with 3-year median follow-up. Secondary endpoints were benefit assessment of adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS A total of 1537 patients were included, with 1388 eligible stage II/III patients curatively operated between 2015 and 2021. DFS was significantly shorter in stroma-high (n = 428) than in stroma-low patients (n = 960) (3-year rates 70% versus 83%; P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, TSR remained an independent prognosticator for DFS (P < 0.001, hazard ratio 1.49, 95% confidence interval 1.17-1.90). As secondary outcome, DFS was also worse in stage II and III stroma-high patients despite adjuvant treatment (3-year rates stage II 73% versus 92% and stage III 66% versus 80%; P = 0.008 and P = 0.011, respectively). In stage II patients not receiving ACT (n = 322), the TSR outperformed the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) criteria in identifying patients at risk of events (event rate 21% versus 9%), with a higher discriminatory 3-year DFS rate (stroma-high 80% versus ASCO high risk 91%). A trend toward worse 5-year OS in stroma-high was noticeable (74% versus 83% stroma-low; P = 0.102). CONCLUSION The multicenter UNITED study unequivocally validates the TSR as an independent prognosticator, confirming worse outcomes in stroma-high patients. The TSR improved current selection criteria for patients at risk of events, and stroma-high patients potentially experienced chemotherapy resistance. TSR implementation in pathology diagnostics and international guidelines is highly recommended as aid in personalized treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Polack
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden
| | - M A Smit
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden
| | - G W van Pelt
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden
| | - A G H Roodvoets
- Clinical Research Center, Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden
| | | | - H Putter
- Department of Biomedical Data Sciences, Leiden
| | | | - A S L P Crobach
- Department of Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden
| | - V Terpstra
- Department of Pathology, Haaglanden Medical Center, The Hague, The Netherlands
| | - G Petrushevska
- Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty of Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia
| | - G Gašljević
- Department of Pathology, Onkološki inštitut-Institute of Oncology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - S Kjær-Frifeldt
- Department of Pathology, Vejle Sygehus-Sygehus Lillebælt, Vejle, Denmark
| | | | | | - G R Vink
- Department of Medical Oncology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht; Department of Research and Development, Netherlands Comprehensive Cancer Organisation (IKNL), Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - R Al Dieri
- European Society of Pathology, Brussels, Belgium
| | | | - J H J M van Krieken
- Department of Pathology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - W E Mesker
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden.
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Kazemi A, Gharib M, Mohamadian Roshan N, Taraz Jamshidi S, Stögbauer F, Eslami S, Schüffler PJ. Assessment of the Tumor-Stroma Ratio and Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes in Colorectal Cancer: Inter-Observer Agreement Evaluation. Diagnostics (Basel) 2023; 13:2339. [PMID: 37510083 PMCID: PMC10378655 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13142339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND To implement the new marker in clinical practice, reliability assessment, validation, and standardization of utilization must be applied. This study evaluated the reliability of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and tumor-stroma ratio (TSR) assessment through conventional microscopy by comparing observers' estimations. METHODS Intratumoral and tumor-front stromal TILs, and TSR, were assessed by three pathologists using 86 CRC HE slides. TSR and TILs were categorized using one and four different proposed cutoff systems, respectively, and agreement was assessed using the intraclass coefficient (ICC) and Cohen's kappa statistics. Pairwise evaluation of agreement was performed using the Fleiss kappa statistic and the concordance rate and it was visualized by Bland-Altman plots. To investigate the association between biomarkers and patient data, Pearson's correlation analysis was applied. RESULTS For the evaluation of intratumoral stromal TILs, ICC of 0.505 (95% CI: 0.35-0.64) was obtained, kappa values were in the range of 0.21 to 0.38, and concordance rates in the range of 0.61 to 0.72. For the evaluation of tumor-front TILs, ICC was 0.52 (95% CI: 0.32-0.67), the overall kappa value ranged from 0.24 to 0.30, and the concordance rate ranged from 0.66 to 0.72. For estimating the TSR, the ICC was 0.48 (95% CI: 0.35-0.60), the kappa value was 0.49 and the concordance rate was 0.76. We observed a significant correlation between tumor grade and the median of TSR (0.29 (95% CI: 0.032-0.51), p-value = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS The agreement between pathologists in estimating these markers corresponds to poor-to-moderate agreement; implementing immune scores in daily practice requires more concentration in inter-observer agreements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azar Kazemi
- Institute of General and Surgical Pathology, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany
- Department of Medical Informatics, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 9177948564, Iran
| | - Masoumeh Gharib
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 9137913316, Iran
| | - Nema Mohamadian Roshan
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 9137913316, Iran
| | - Shirin Taraz Jamshidi
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 9137913316, Iran
| | - Fabian Stögbauer
- Institute of General and Surgical Pathology, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany
| | - Saeid Eslami
- Department of Medical Informatics, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 9177948564, Iran
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 9177948954, Iran
- Department of Medical Informatics, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Peter J Schüffler
- Institute of General and Surgical Pathology, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany
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Pyo JS, Kim NY, Min KW, Kang DW. Significance of Tumor-Stroma Ratio (TSR) in Predicting Outcomes of Malignant Tumors. Medicina (Kaunas) 2023; 59:1258. [PMID: 37512068 PMCID: PMC10384099 DOI: 10.3390/medicina59071258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Revised: 06/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The present study aimed to elucidate the distribution and the prognostic implications of tumor-stroma ratio (TSR) in various malignant tumors through a meta-analysis. Materials and Methods: This meta-analysis included 51 eligible studies with information for overall survival (OS) or disease-free survival (DFS), according to TSR. In addition, subgroup analysis was performed based on criteria for high TSR. Results: The estimated rate of high TSR was 0.605 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.565-0.644) in overall malignant tumors. The rates of high TSR ranged from 0.276 to 0.865. The highest rate of high TSR was found in endometrial cancer (0.865, 95% CI 0.827-0.895). The estimated high TSR rates of colorectal, esophageal, and stomach cancers were 0.622, 0.529, and 0.448, respectively. In overall cases, patients with high TSR had better OS and DFS than those with low TSR (hazard ratio (HR) 0.631, 95% CI 0.542-0.734, and HR 0.564, 95% CI 0.0.476-0.669, respectively). Significant correlations with OS were found in the breast, cervical, colorectal, esophagus, head and neck, ovary, stomach, and urinary tract cancers. In addition, there were significant correlations of DFS in breast, cervical, colorectal, esophageal, larynx, lung, and stomach cancers. In endometrial cancers, high TSR was significantly correlated with worse OS and DFS. Conclusions: The rate of high TSR was different in various malignant tumors. TSR can be useful for predicting prognosis through a routine microscopic examination of malignant tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jung-Soo Pyo
- Department of Pathology, Uijeongbu Eulji University Hospital, Eulji University School of Medicine, Uijeongbu-si 11759, Republic of Korea
| | - Nae Yu Kim
- Department of Internal Medicine, Uijeongbu Eulji Medical Center, Eulji University School of Medicine, Uijeongbu-si 11759, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyueng-Whan Min
- Department of Pathology, Uijeongbu Eulji University Hospital, Eulji University School of Medicine, Uijeongbu-si 11759, Republic of Korea
| | - Dong-Wook Kang
- Department of Pathology, Chungnam National University Sejong Hospital, 20 Bodeum 7-ro, Sejong 30099, Republic of Korea
- Department of Pathology, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, 266 Munhwa Street, Daejeon 35015, Republic of Korea
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Firmbach D, Benz M, Kuritcyn P, Bruns V, Lang-Schwarz C, Stuebs FA, Merkel S, Leikauf LS, Braunschweig AL, Oldenburger A, Gloßner L, Abele N, Eck C, Matek C, Hartmann A, Geppert CI. Tumor-Stroma Ratio in Colorectal Cancer-Comparison between Human Estimation and Automated Assessment. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:2675. [PMID: 37345012 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15102675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The tumor-stroma ratio (TSR) has been repeatedly shown to be a prognostic factor for survival prediction of different cancer types. However, an objective and reliable determination of the tumor-stroma ratio remains challenging. We present an easily adaptable deep learning model for accurately segmenting tumor regions in hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained whole slide images (WSIs) of colon cancer patients into five distinct classes (tumor, stroma, necrosis, mucus, and background). The tumor-stroma ratio can be determined in the presence of necrotic or mucinous areas. We employ a few-shot model, eventually aiming for the easy adaptability of our approach to related segmentation tasks or other primaries, and compare the results to a well-established state-of-the art approach (U-Net). Both models achieve similar results with an overall accuracy of 86.5% and 86.7%, respectively, indicating that the adaptability does not lead to a significant decrease in accuracy. Moreover, we comprehensively compare with TSR estimates of human observers and examine in detail discrepancies and inter-rater reliability. Adding a second survey for segmentation quality on top of a first survey for TSR estimation, we found that TSR estimations of human observers are not as reliable a ground truth as previously thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Firmbach
- Digital Health Systems Department, Fraunhofer-Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, Am Wolfsmantel 33, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Krankenhausstr. 8-10, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN (CCC), University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Östliche Stadtmauerstr. 30, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Michaela Benz
- Digital Health Systems Department, Fraunhofer-Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, Am Wolfsmantel 33, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Petr Kuritcyn
- Digital Health Systems Department, Fraunhofer-Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, Am Wolfsmantel 33, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Volker Bruns
- Digital Health Systems Department, Fraunhofer-Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, Am Wolfsmantel 33, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Corinna Lang-Schwarz
- Institute of Pathology, Hospital Bayreuth, Preuschwitzer Str. 101, 95445 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Frederik A Stuebs
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN (CCC), University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Östliche Stadtmauerstr. 30, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Universitätsstraße 21-23, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Susanne Merkel
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN (CCC), University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Östliche Stadtmauerstr. 30, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Department of Surgery, University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Krankenhausstr. 12, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Leah-Sophie Leikauf
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Krankenhausstr. 8-10, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN (CCC), University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Östliche Stadtmauerstr. 30, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Anna-Lea Braunschweig
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Krankenhausstr. 8-10, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN (CCC), University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Östliche Stadtmauerstr. 30, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Angelika Oldenburger
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Krankenhausstr. 8-10, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN (CCC), University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Östliche Stadtmauerstr. 30, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Laura Gloßner
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Krankenhausstr. 8-10, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN (CCC), University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Östliche Stadtmauerstr. 30, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Niklas Abele
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Krankenhausstr. 8-10, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN (CCC), University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Östliche Stadtmauerstr. 30, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Christine Eck
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Krankenhausstr. 8-10, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN (CCC), University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Östliche Stadtmauerstr. 30, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Christian Matek
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Krankenhausstr. 8-10, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN (CCC), University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Östliche Stadtmauerstr. 30, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Arndt Hartmann
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Krankenhausstr. 8-10, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN (CCC), University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Östliche Stadtmauerstr. 30, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Carol I Geppert
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Krankenhausstr. 8-10, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN (CCC), University Hospital Erlangen, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Östliche Stadtmauerstr. 30, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
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Loft MK, Pedersen MRV, Lindebjerg J, Rahr HB, Rafaelsen SR. Endorectal Ultrasound Shear-Wave Elastography of Complex Rectal Adenoma and Early Rectal Cancer. Diagnostics (Basel) 2022; 12. [PMID: 36140566 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics12092166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose: To investigate the diagnostic performance of endorectal ultrasound (ERUS), shear-wave elastography (SWE), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with a complex rectal adenoma or an early rectal cancer, i.e., T1 or T2 adenocarcinoma in a clinical setting, and to evaluate the association between SWE and stromal fraction (SF) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and SF. Method: This prospective study included patients undergoing ERUS and SWE for a rectal tumor subsequently confirmed by histopathology to be an adenoma or a T1 or T2 adenocarcinoma. The accuracy of the imaging methods was assessed by comparing the T category as determined by ERUS and MRI with histopathology, which served as the gold standard. SF was assessed on surgical specimens. Results: A total of 86 patients were included. Of these, 62 patients had adenomas and 24 patients had carcinomas, of which 11 were T1 tumors and 13 were T2 tumors. ERUS and MRI yielded sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 0.79 and 0.73, 0.95 and 0.90, and 0.86 and 0.78, respectively, for discrimination between benign and malignant lesions. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve for SWE was 0.88, and with a cut-off value of 40 kPa the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 0.79, 0.89, and 0.86, respectively. There was a positive correlation between SF and SWE with a p-value of <0.001 and a negative correlation between SF and ADC with a p-value of 0.011. Conclusion: Both ERUS and MRI classified T categories with a high accuracy; however, ERUS classified more adenomas correctly than MRI. In this small population, SWE could differentiate an adenoma from early carcinoma. SF was correlated with both SWE and ADC, as increasing SF tended to yield higher SWE and lower ADC values.
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Gao J, Shen Z, Deng Z, Mei L. Impact of Tumor-Stroma Ratio on the Prognosis of Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review. Front Oncol 2021; 11:738080. [PMID: 34868930 PMCID: PMC8635241 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.738080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND It is critical to develop a reliable and cost-effective prognostic tool for colorectal cancer (CRC) stratification and treatment optimization. Tumor-stroma ratio (TSR) may be a promising indicator of poor prognosis in CRC patients. As a result, we conducted a systematic review on the predictive value of TSR in CRC. METHODS This study was carried out according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guideline. An electronic search was completed using commonly used databases PubMed, CENTRAL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Google scholar till the last search up to May 30, 2021. STATA version 13 was used to analyze the data. RESULTS A total of 13 studies [(12 for disease-free survival (DFS) and nine studies for overall survival (OS)] involving 4,857 patients met the inclusion criteria for the systematic review in the present study. In individuals with stage II CRC, stage III CRC, or mixed stage CRC, we observed a significantly higher pooled hazard ratio (HR) in those with a low TSR/greater stromal content (HR, 1.54; 95% CI: 1.20 to 1.88), (HR, 1.90; 95% CI: 1.35 to 2.45), and (HR, 1.70; 95% CI: 1.45 to 1.95), respectively, for predicting DFS. We found that a low TSR ratio had a statistically significant predictive relevance for stage II (HR, 1.43; 95% CI: 1.09 to 1.77) and mixed stages of CRC (HR, 1.65; 95% CI: 1.31 to 2.0) for outcome OS. CONCLUSION In patients with CRC, low TSR was found to be a prognostic factor for a worse prognosis (DFS and OS).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinlai Gao
- Department of Pathology, Huzhou Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Huzhou, China
| | - Zhangguo Shen
- School of Information Engineering, Huzhou University, Huzhou, China
| | - Zaixing Deng
- Department of Pathology, Huzhou Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Huzhou, China
| | - Lina Mei
- Department of Internal Medicine, Huzhou Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Huzhou, China
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Ravensbergen CJ, Polack M, Roelands J, Crobach S, Putter H, Gelderblom H, Tollenaar RAEM, Mesker WE. Combined Assessment of the Tumor-Stroma Ratio and Tumor Immune Cell Infiltrate for Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy Response Prediction in Colon Cancer. Cells 2021; 10:2935. [PMID: 34831157 PMCID: PMC8616493 DOI: 10.3390/cells10112935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2021] [Revised: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The best current biomarker strategies for predicting response to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy fail to account for interpatient variability in response rates. The histologic tumor-stroma ratio (TSR) quantifies intratumoral stromal content and was recently found to be predictive of response to neoadjuvant therapy in multiple cancer types. In the current work, we predicted the likelihood of ICI therapy responsivity of 335 therapy-naive colon adenocarcinoma tumors from The Cancer Genome Atlas, using bioinformatics approaches. The TSR was scored on diagnostic tissue slides, and tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs) were inferred from transcriptomic data. Tumors with high stromal content demonstrated increased T regulatory cell infiltration (p = 0.014) but failed to predict ICI therapy response. Consequently, we devised a hybrid tumor microenvironment classification of four stromal categories, based on histological stromal content and transcriptomic-deconvoluted immune cell infiltration, which was associated with previously established transcriptomic and genomic biomarkers for ICI therapy response. By integrating these biomarkers, stroma-low/immune-high tumors were predicted to be most responsive to ICI therapy. The framework described here provides evidence for expansion of current histological TIIC quantification to include the TSR as a novel, easy-to-use biomarker for the prediction of ICI therapy response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cor J. Ravensbergen
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2300RC Leiden, The Netherlands; (C.J.R.); (M.P.); (R.A.E.M.T.)
| | - Meaghan Polack
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2300RC Leiden, The Netherlands; (C.J.R.); (M.P.); (R.A.E.M.T.)
| | - Jessica Roelands
- Department of Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2300RC Leiden, The Netherlands; (J.R.); (S.C.)
| | - Stijn Crobach
- Department of Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2300RC Leiden, The Netherlands; (J.R.); (S.C.)
| | - Hein Putter
- Department of Medical Statistics, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2300RC Leiden, The Netherlands;
| | - Hans Gelderblom
- Department of Medical Oncology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2300RC Leiden, The Netherlands;
| | - Rob A. E. M. Tollenaar
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2300RC Leiden, The Netherlands; (C.J.R.); (M.P.); (R.A.E.M.T.)
| | - Wilma E. Mesker
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2300RC Leiden, The Netherlands; (C.J.R.); (M.P.); (R.A.E.M.T.)
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Kang G, Pyo JS, Kim NY, Kang DW. Clinicopathological Significances of Tumor-Stroma Ratio (TSR) in Colorectal Cancers: Prognostic Implication of TSR Compared to Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α Expression and Microvessel Density. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2021; 28:1314-24. [PMID: 33810015 DOI: 10.3390/curroncol28020125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Revised: 03/10/2021] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The present study aimed to elucidate the clinicopathological significance and prognostic implications of tumor–stroma ratio (TSR) in colorectal cancers (CRCs). TSRs were investigated in 266 human CRC specimens. The correlations between TSR and clinicopathological characteristics and survival were evaluated. The hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) immunohistochemical expression of tumor cells and microvessel density (MVD) of stroma were compared between stroma-low and stroma-high subgroups. Results: Stroma-low was found in 185 of 266 CRCs (69.5%). Stroma-low was significantly correlated with less frequent vascular and perineural invasion and distant metastasis than stroma-high. HIF-1α of tumor cells was more highly expressed in the stroma-high subgroup than in the stroma-low subgroup. In addition, MVD was significantly higher in the stroma-high subgroup compared to the stroma-low subgroup. The stroma-low rate was increased considerably in CRCs with a mucinous component and decreased in CRCs with a micropapillary component. There were significant correlations between stroma-low and better overall and recurrence-free survivals. Similar to the literature, we observed that stroma-low was significantly correlated with favorable tumor behaviors and better survival. The microscopic examination of TSR can be useful for predicting the prognosis of CRC patients.
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Li B, Wang Y, Jiang H, Li B, Shi X, Gao S, Ni C, Zhang Z, Guo S, Xu J, Jin G. Pros and Cons: High Proportion of Stromal Component Indicates Better Prognosis in Patients With Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma-A Research Based on the Evaluation of Whole-Mount Histological Slides. Front Oncol 2020; 10:1472. [PMID: 32974173 PMCID: PMC7471248 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2020.01472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 07/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The study aimed to investigate the potential of tumor–stroma ratio (TSR) on digitalized whole-mount histopathology to predict prognosis in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The effectiveness were evaluated through internal validation. Data were retrospectively collected from consecutive patients who underwent primary pancreatic resection from December 2016 to August 2017 (developing cohort) and from September 2017 to April 2018 (validation cohort). Digitalized whole-mount slide images were used to evaluate TSR by both pathologists and a computerized model based on Conditional Generative Adversarial Model (cGAN), respectively. TSR>1 and ≤ 1 denoted low and high stromal component. Logistic regression analysis revealed intratumoral necrosis and R1 independently associated with low stromal component in the developing cohort. Cox regression analysis revealed tumor–node–metastasis (TNM) stage [II vs. I: hazard ratio (HR), 2.584; 95% CI, 1.386–4.819; P = 0.003; III vs. I: HR, 4.384; 95% CI, 2.285–8.411; P < 0.001], stromal component (low vs. high: HR, 1.876; 95% CI, 1.227–2.870; P = 0.004), tumor grade (G3 vs. G1/2: HR, 2.124; 95% CI, 1.419–3.179; P < 0.001), and perineural invasion (with vs. without: HR, 2.147; 95% CI, 1.187–3.883; P = 0.011) were independent prognostic factors in the developing cohort. Stromal component categories could classify patients into subgroups within TNM stages I, II, and III based on over survival. All results were validated in the validation cohort. The weighted kappa value for categorical assessments between pathologists' evaluation and computer-aided evaluation was 0.804 (95% CI, 0.573–0.951). TSR represents a simple and reliable metric for combining the prognostic value of TNM stage in patients with PDAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Li
- Department of Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Surgery, Changhai Hospital Affiliated to Navy Medical University (Second Military Medical University), Shanghai, China.,Department of General Surgery, Beidaihe Rehabilitation and Recuperation Center of Joint Logistics Support Force, Qinhuangdao, China
| | - Yang Wang
- Department of Pathology, Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Chinese Traditional Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Hui Jiang
- Department of Pathology, Changhai Hospital Affiliated to Navy Medical University (Second Military Medical University), Shanghai, China
| | - Baoming Li
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Big Data Analysis Technique and CICAEET, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China
| | - Xiaohan Shi
- Department of Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Surgery, Changhai Hospital Affiliated to Navy Medical University (Second Military Medical University), Shanghai, China
| | - Suizhi Gao
- Department of Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Surgery, Changhai Hospital Affiliated to Navy Medical University (Second Military Medical University), Shanghai, China
| | - Canrong Ni
- Department of Pathology, Changhai Hospital Affiliated to Navy Medical University (Second Military Medical University), Shanghai, China
| | - Zelin Zhang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Big Data Analysis Technique and CICAEET, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China
| | - Shiwei Guo
- Department of Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Surgery, Changhai Hospital Affiliated to Navy Medical University (Second Military Medical University), Shanghai, China
| | - Jun Xu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Big Data Analysis Technique and CICAEET, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China
| | - Gang Jin
- Department of Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Surgery, Changhai Hospital Affiliated to Navy Medical University (Second Military Medical University), Shanghai, China
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