Table 1.
Characteristics of included studies.
| First author | Year | Country | Types of tumor | Stage | Sample size | Laboratory method | Cut-off criteria | Estimate criteria | Follow-up time | Survival analysis | NOS score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zhao Y. | 2020 | China | ESCC | I | 593 | HE | positive and negative | TLS | Median:42months (1 - 102 months) | OS | 7 |
| Zhang W.H. | 2020 | China | PDC | G1-G2 | 307 | IHC | presence and the location of TLS | B cell, FDC, T cell | RFS: median: 39 months (1.5 - 95.0 months) OS: 58 months (10.0 - 96.0 months). | OS, RFS | 9 |
| Yamaguchi Y. | 2020 | Japan | CRC | II-III | 67 | IHC | number of TLS | TLS | Median:42.9 months (22.5 - 73.4 months) | Relapse | 8 |
| Lin Q. | 2020 | China | GT | NR | 187 | IHC | positive and negative | TILs | more than 100 months | OS, TTR | 8 |
| Li H. | 2020 | China | HCC | I-IV | 462 | IHC | positive and negative | TILs | Median:61.3 months (1.5 - 119.4 months) | OS, RFS | 8 |
| Yoshihito Y. | 2020 | Japan | GT | I-IV | 226 | IHC | percentage area (3%) | B cell, FDC, T cell, HEV | more than 80 months | DFS | 7 |
| He W. | 2020 | China | GT | I-III | 1033 | IHC/HE | positive and negative | HEVFDC | more than 100 months | OS | 8 |
| Li Q. | 2020 | China | OSCC | I-IV | 168 | IHC/HE | positive and negative | HEV, Immune cell | 5 years | OS, RFS | 8 |
| Chao X. | 2020 | China | BC | NR | 60 | IHC | positive and negative | B cell, FDC, T cell HEV | Median:48months (22 - 163 months) | OS | 8 |
| Li K. | 2020 | China | OSCC | NR | 65 | IHC/HE | locations and counts of TLS (n = 4) | B cell, FDC, T cell HEV | Median:44 months (1 - 83 months) | OS, DFS | 8 |
| Sofopoulos M. | 2019 | Greece | BC | NR | 112 | IHC | locations and counts of TLS | HEV, Immune cell | 0 -10 years | OS, DFS | 7 |
| Lee M. | 2019 | Korea | BC | I-V | 335 | IHC/HE | positive and negative | HEV, Immune cell | NR | OS | 8 |
| Kuwabara S. | 2019 | Japan | PDC | I-IV | 47 | IHC/HC | area of TLS | HEV, Immune cell | Median: 749.5 days | OS | 8 |
| Calderaro J. | 2019 | France | HCC | BCLC stage B-C | 498 | HE | positive and negative | TLS | 0 -24 months | Relapse | 8 |
| Trajkovski G. | 2018 | Yugoslavia | CRC | I-IV | 103 | IHC | positive and negative | TILs | NR | NR | 6 |
| Posch F. | 2018 | Austria | CRC | II-III | 109 | IF | number of TLS | TLS | 0 -36 months | Relapse | 7 |
| Song I. H. | 2017 | Korea | BC | I-IV | 108 | IHC | positive and negative | HEV | Median:34.9 months (12.0 - 55.8 months) | DFS | 9 |
| Liu X. | 2017 | China | BC | I-IV | 245 | HE | within 5 mm TLS | TLS | Median:78 months (1 - 134 months) | DFS, OS | 8 |
| Buisseret L. | 2017 | Canada | BC | I-III | 125 | IHC | positive and negative | TLS | NR | NR | 6 |
| Schweiger T. | 2016 | Vienna | CRC | I-IV | 57 | IHC | positive and negative | TLS | more than 80 months | OS, RFS | 9 |
| Lee H. J. | 2016 | Korea | BC | I-III | 769 | IHC | positive and negative | HEV, TILs | more than 100 months | OS, DFS | 9 |
| Silina K. | 2015 | Switzerland | LC | NA | 87 | IHC | positive and negative | TLS | 5 years | DFS | 6 |
| Hiraoka N. | 2015 | Japan | PDC | I-IV | 308 | IHC | positive and negative | TLS | Median:17.6 months (2.6 - 201 months) | OS, DFS | 9 |
| Figenschau S. L. | 2015 | Norway | BC | I-III | 290 | IHC | positive and negative | TLS | NR | NR | 6 |
| Di Caro G. | 2014 | Italy | CRC | II-III | 185 | IHC | percentage area (2.68%) | TLS, TILs, HEV | Median: 4.71 years | Relapse | 9 |
| BehrD. S. | 2014 | Germany | Merkel cell carcinomas | I-IV | 21 | IHC | positive and negative | Immune cell | NR | OS, DFS | 7 |
| Anna | 2014 | Norway | OSCC | I-IV | 80 | IHC | within 100 um TLS | B cell, FDC, T cell, HEV | more than 100 months | DSS | 8 |
Abbreviations: ESCC: esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; CRC: colorectal cancer; GT: gastric tumors; HCC: hepatocellular carcinoma; BC: breast cancer; PDC: pancreatic ductal carcinoma; LC: lung cancer; IHC: immunohistochemistry; H&E: hematoxylin-eosin staining; NOS: the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale; IF: immunofluorescence; OS: overall survival; RFS: relapse-free survival; DFS: disease-free survival; DSS: disease-specific survival; TLS: tertiary lymphoid structure; TILs: tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes; FDC: follicular dendritic cells; HEV: high endothelial venules.