Biomed Pap Med Fac Univ Palacky Olomouc Czech Repub. 2020, 164(1):43-48 | DOI: 10.5507/bp.2019.048

Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in malignant melanoma - allies or foes?

Vladimir Zidlika,b, Michala Bezdekovac, Svetlana Brychtovac,d
a Department of Pathology, University Hospital Ostrava, Czech Republic
b Department of Pathology, CGB Laboratory, Ostrava, Czech Republic
c Institute of Clinical and Molecular Pathology, University Hospital Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
d Institute of Clinical and Molecular Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University Olomouc, Czech Republic

This is an overview of current problematics regarding the role of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in malignant melanomas. Various and often conflicting data have been published, correlating tumor type, stage, prognosis, as well as sex and age of patients. This is partly due to heterogeneity in scaling systems and unstandardized TILs grading but also due to changes of tumor-host interactions. Melanomas are an immunologically heterogeneous group with variability of TILs, where distinct gene expression patterns were found in tumors with absent, and/or non- brisk TIL grade versus brisk TIL grade. However, the presence of TILs alone appears to be inadequate for implicating them as immunologically functional. Further characterisation of TIL phenotype and function is warranted. This especially concerns, evaluation of TILs of the suppressor phenotype but rather than as a prognostic factor, more for prediction of targeted immunotherapy.

Keywords: melanoma, tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, regulatory lymphocytes, immune check point

Received: May 15, 2019; Revised: August 29, 2019; Accepted: September 11, 2019; Prepublished online: October 24, 2019; Published: March 26, 2020  Show citation

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Zidlik, V., Bezdekova, M., & Brychtova, S. (2020). Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in malignant melanoma - allies or foes? Biomedical papers, 164(1), 43-48. doi: 10.5507/bp.2019.048
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