EOSINOPHIL INFILTRATION OF HUMAN COLONIC CARCINOMAS AS A PROGNOSTIC INDICATOR

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  • 1 January 1983
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 43  (6) , 2997-3000
Abstract
In experiments with suspensions of cells from colonic carcinomas, some colonic carcinomas contained large numbers of eosinophils. A prospective study was carried out with 67 almost consecutive colonic carcinomas after optimal fixation and staining for the demonstration of eosinophils. Infiltration of the primary tumor by eosinophils had marked prognostic significance. The proportion (4 of 17 or 23.5%) of carcinomas with more than 30 eosinophils/mm2 that had metastases was significantly less (P = 0.01) than the proportion (31 of 50 or 62.0%) of carcinomas with less than 30 eosinophils/mm2 that had metastases. At 18 mo. following the resection of tumor in patients with metastases, all of the patients (9 of 9) with greater than 30 eosinophils/mm2 were alive in contrast to 73.7% (11 of 15) of the patients with < 30 eosinophils/mm2. The number of survivors at 18 mo. for the total population without regard to metastases was significantly greater (P = 0.028) for those with > 30 eosinophils/mm2 than for those with < 30 eosinophils/mm2. The quantitative assessment of eosinophils evidently is one of the most important aspects of the microscopic evaluation of this common human tumor.