Stroma AReactive Invasion Front Areas (SARIFA), tumour immune microenvironment, and survival in colorectal cancer
Tapiainen, Vilja V; Sirniö, Päivi; Elomaa, Hanna; Karjalainen, Henna; Äijälä, Ville K; Kastinen, Meeri; Kehusmaa, Akseli; Pohjanen, Vesa-Matti; Lindgren, Outi; Sirkiä, Onni; Ahtiainen, Maarit; Helminen, Olli; Wirta, Erkki-Ville; Rintala, Jukka; Saarnio, Juha; Rautio, Tero; Seppälä, Toni T; Böhm, Jan; Mecklin, Jukka-Pekka; Tuomisto, Anne; Mäkinen, Markus J; Väyrynen, Juha P (2025-03-07)
Springer
07.03.2025
Tapiainen, V.V., Sirniö, P., Elomaa, H. et al. Stroma AReactive Invasion Front Areas (SARIFA), tumour immune microenvironment, and survival in colorectal cancer. Br J Cancer 132, 805–813 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-025-02972-z
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https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
© The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202503111957
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202503111957
Tiivistelmä
Abstract
Background:
SARIFA (Stroma AReactive Invasion Front Areas), defined as the direct contact between a tumour cell cluster and adipose cells at the invasion margin, has been proposed as a prognostic marker in gastrointestinal cancers. We hypothesized that SARIFA is associated with an immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment.
Methods:
SARIFA status was evaluated in two large colorectal cancer cohorts (N = 1876). Survival analyses were performed using multivariable Cox regression. Immune cell densities were analysed utilizing multiplex and conventional immunohistochemistry combined with digital image analysis.
Results:
SARIFA-positivity was independently associated with a shorter cancer-specific survival in both cohorts [Cohort 1: hazard ratio (HR) for SARIFA-positive (vs. negative) 1.75 (95% CI 1.35–2.25), P < 0.0001; Cohort 2: HR for SARIFA-positive (vs. negative) 2.09 (95% CI 1.43–3.05), P = 0.0001]. SARIFA-positivity was associated with lower densities of CD3+ T cells, CD66b+ granulocytes, M1-like macrophages, and CD14+HLA-DR+ mature monocytic cells, but higher densities of M2-like macrophages and CD14+HLA-DR- immature monocytic cells. Mean Cohen’s kappa for SARIFA evaluation between eight investigators was 0.80.
Conclusions:
SARIFA status is a highly reproducible, independent prognostic factor in colorectal cancer. SARIFA-positivity is associated with lower densities of antitumourigenic immune cells and the polarisation of macrophages towards a protumourigenic M2-like phenotype.
Background:
SARIFA (Stroma AReactive Invasion Front Areas), defined as the direct contact between a tumour cell cluster and adipose cells at the invasion margin, has been proposed as a prognostic marker in gastrointestinal cancers. We hypothesized that SARIFA is associated with an immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment.
Methods:
SARIFA status was evaluated in two large colorectal cancer cohorts (N = 1876). Survival analyses were performed using multivariable Cox regression. Immune cell densities were analysed utilizing multiplex and conventional immunohistochemistry combined with digital image analysis.
Results:
SARIFA-positivity was independently associated with a shorter cancer-specific survival in both cohorts [Cohort 1: hazard ratio (HR) for SARIFA-positive (vs. negative) 1.75 (95% CI 1.35–2.25), P < 0.0001; Cohort 2: HR for SARIFA-positive (vs. negative) 2.09 (95% CI 1.43–3.05), P = 0.0001]. SARIFA-positivity was associated with lower densities of CD3+ T cells, CD66b+ granulocytes, M1-like macrophages, and CD14+HLA-DR+ mature monocytic cells, but higher densities of M2-like macrophages and CD14+HLA-DR- immature monocytic cells. Mean Cohen’s kappa for SARIFA evaluation between eight investigators was 0.80.
Conclusions:
SARIFA status is a highly reproducible, independent prognostic factor in colorectal cancer. SARIFA-positivity is associated with lower densities of antitumourigenic immune cells and the polarisation of macrophages towards a protumourigenic M2-like phenotype.
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