Table 2.
This table provides an overview of the results of the meta-analyses including a point estimate of the risk ratio (in relation to pathological response) and the hazard ratio (in relation to survival) with corresponding CI. The level of evidence has also been included in the table. The meta-analyses evaluated the association between pretherapeutic TILs density and treatment response to NCRT and long-term prognosis.
| Outcome | Biomarker | Studies | n | Point Estimate | Lower 95% CI | Higher 95% CI | I2 | GRADE Level of Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pCR | CD8+ TILs | 6 | 692 | 2.71 | 1.58 | 4.66 | 0% | Moderate |
| pTR | CD3+ TILs | 2 | 191 | 1.63 | 0.35 | 7.69 | 0% | Low |
| CD4+ TILs | 4 | 342 | 1.23 | 0.83 | 1.82 | 0% | Low | |
| CD8+ TILs | 9 | 1073 | 1.86 | 1.50 | 2.29 | 0% | Moderate | |
| FOXP3+ TILs | 4 | 294 | 0.85 | 0.20 | 3.58 | 76% | Very low | |
| DFS | CD8+ TILs | 6 | 716 | 0.57 | 0.38 | 0.86 | 25% | Moderate |
| FOXP3+ TILs | 3 | 193 | 1.66 | 0.17 | 16.32 | 62% | Very low | |
| OS | CD8+ TILs | 4 | 360 | 0.43 | 0.27 | 0.69 | 0% | Moderate |
pCR: Pathological complete response. pTR: Pathological treatment response. DFS: Disease-free survival. OS: Overall survival. n: number of patients. CI: Confidence interval.