Tumor Lymphocytic Infiltration as a Prognostic Factor in Gastric Carcinoma

Background: Gastric cancer has a relatively high prevalence and is one of the 
most common causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Despite many 
improvements in diagnosis and treatment, the prognosis for gastric cancer 
remains poor especially in the advanced stages. Several studies suggested that 
tumor lymphocytic infiltration (TLI) has a prognostic role in gastric carcinoma 
and may direct patient selection for immunotherapy. Our study aims to evaluate 
TLI in gastric carcinoma and its impact on survival.
Material and Method: This was a cohort retrospective study involved 73 
gastric carcinoma patients at South Egypt Cancer Institute, in period from the 
beginning of 2016 to the end of 2020 to evaluate the relation between TLI and 
clinicopathological features, and its impact on survival outcomes in gastric 
carcinoma patients.
Results: Patients with high grade tumor, advanced stage, lymph node positive 
patients’ group and the presence of patient distant metastasis (M1) in the 
presence of low TLI density were significantly associated with poor 
OS(p=0.033), (p=0.014), (p=0.001) and (p=0.006), respectively. A borderline 
significance impact on OS was noted in patients who responded to treatment in 
the presence of high TLI (p=0.067).
Conclusion: High TLI density has favorable outcome regarding OS in gastric 
carcinoma. These results may give us some valuable prognostic factors for 
medical management of gastric carcinoma.