Table 1.
Implication of cell-in-cell (CIC) for clinical prognosis in different studies.
| Tumor type | CIC category | Prognostic significance | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anal cancer | Homotypic | Entosis is associated with a better prognosis in anal carcinomas | (45) | |
| Bladder cancer | Homotypic | Homotypic cannibalism was an independent factor in the prediction of the progression | (42) | |
| Breast cancer | Heterotypic | MiT was identified as a potent adverse prognostic marker | (46) | |
| Homotypic | Higher TiT predicted longer patient survival | (46) | ||
| Homotypic | Entosis did not depend on the hormonal status of the cancer but correlated with two prognostic factors: Ki67 and HER2 | (47) | ||
| Homotypic | A high frequency of CIC predicted poor survival | (48) | ||
| Homotypic | CICs were prognostically favorable for local recurrence-free survival and disease-free survival | (49) | ||
| Buccal mucosa squamous cell carcinoma | Heterotypic | The frequency of NiT as a novel predictor was significantly negatively associated with both recurrence-free survival and disease-specific survival | (50) | |
| Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma | Homotypic | TiT tended to demonstrate better prognostic performance in patients at later TNM stages or T stage | (51) | |
| Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma | Homotypic | Adverse prognosis of patients with homotypic CIC occurrences | (52) | |
| Homotypic | Large numbers of CIC events showed adverse effects on patients’ survival | (45) | ||
| Hepatocellular cancer | Homotypic | Homotypic CIC predicted poor survival of patients | (53) | |
| Heterotypic | High CIC formation was positively correlated with longer survival | (54) | ||
| Non-small cell lung cancer | Homotypic | Entosis was an independent predictor of poor outcome and disease recurrence | (55) | |
| Heterotypic | Heterotypic CICs were associated with adverse prognoses for patients | (56) | ||
| Oral tongue cancer | Homotypic | Homotypic CICs were significantly associated with a higher rate of cancer-related mortality | (57) | |
| Pancreatic cancer | Heterotypic | LiT and MiT were identified as potent adverse prognostic markers impacting young female patients with early-stage pancreatic cancer | (58) | |
| Homotypic | Entotic CIC was independently associated with a poor prognosis | (59) | ||
| Rectal cancer | Homotypic | Large numbers of CIC events showed adverse effects on patients’ survival | (45) | |
CIC, cell-in-cell.; CICs, cell-in-cell structures; LiT, lymphocyte in tumor cell; MiT, macrophage into tumor cell; NiT, neutrophil-in-tumor structure; TiT, tumor cell into cell; TNM, tumor, node, metastasis. Bold font indicates the favorable effect of CIC on prognosis.