Fig. 1.

Increased prevalence of Foxp3(+) cells in gastric and esophageal cancer. CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) cells are expressed as a percentage of the total CD4(+) cells analyzed by flow cytometry (a). In patients with gastric and esophageal cancer, the frequency of Tregs (%Foxp3) in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) of the normal mucosa is shown in b. Patients with gastric cancer were divided into two groups: those with early disease corresponding to stage I and those with advanced disease corresponding to stages II, III, and IV. Patients with esophageal cancer were divided into two groups: those with early disease corresponding to stages 0 and I and those with advanced disease corresponding to stages II, III, and IV. Data were analyzed using a non-paired Student’s t-test, and findings were considered significant when p values were <0.01 (*)