TY - JOUR T1 - Paucity of Tumor-infiltrating Lymphocytes Is an Unfavorable Prognosticator and Predicts Lymph Node Metastases in Cutaneous Melanoma Patients JF - Anticancer Research JO - Anticancer Res SP - 351 LP - 358 VL - 35 IS - 1 AU - PIOTR DONIZY AU - MACIEJ KACZOROWSKI AU - AGNIESZKA HALON AU - MAREK LESKIEWICZ AU - CYPRIAN KOZYRA AU - RAFAL MATKOWSKI Y1 - 2015/01/01 UR - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/35/1/351.abstract N2 - Background/Aim: Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have been a subject of growing scientific interest; however, a full picture of their role in cancer pathogenesis is still unclear. The present study aimed to reveal correlations between TIL grade and clinicopathological features, especially 5-year survival parameters in cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) patients. Materials and Methods: Presence of TILs was assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining in routine diagnostic histopathological specimens from 104 patients with cutaneous melanoma. Results: In the entire group of 104 patients, decreasing TIL intensity was a highly negative prognostic factor and indicated considerably shorter overall survival (OS), cancer-specific overall survival (CSOS) and disease-free survival (DFS). We also report on a significant association between decreased TIL intensity and worse prognosis in lymph node-negative patients. Shorter survival (p=0.002 for OS, p=0.038 for CSOS and p=0.011 for DFS) was observed in patients with negative sentinel lymph node biopsies (SLNB), as well as in patients with lack of metastases in regional lymph nodes (p=0.034 for OS, p<0.001 for CSOS and DFS). Conclusion: Our results indicate that TIL grade is a valuable diagnostic parameter that may be helpful in risk stratification in CMM. ER -