Relationship between the Warburg effect in tumour cells and the tumour microenvironment in colorectal cancer patients: Results from a large multicentre study

Jorn P.J.M. Steeghs, Kelly Offermans, Josien C.A. Jenniskens, Iryna Samarska, Gregorio E. Fazzi, Piet A. van den Brandt, Heike I. Grabsch*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains one of the most prevalent and deadly cancers worldwide. The tumour-node-metastasis stage (TNM) is currently the most clinically important tool to predict prognosis for CRC patients. However, patients with the same TNM stage can have different prognoses. The metabolic status of tumour cells (Warburg-subtype) has been proposed as potential prognostic factor in CRC. However, potential biological mechanisms underlying the relationship between Warburg-subtype and prognosis have not been investigated in detail. One potential mechanism could be that the metabolic status of tumour cells affects the tumour microenvironment (TME). Our objective was to investigate the relationship between Warburg-subtypes and the TME. Haematoxylin/Eosin stained tumour tissue microarray cores from 2171 CRC patients from the Netherlands Cohort Study were semi quantitatively assessed for tumour infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and relative tumour stroma content. 5745 cores were assessed by putting each core in one of four categories for both TILs and stroma. The relationship between Warburg-subtype, TILs, and tumour stroma content was investigated. The frequency of CRC in the different TIL categories was (n, %): very low (2538, 44.2), low (2463, 42.9), high (722, 12.6), and very high (22, 0.4). The frequency of CRC in the different tumour stroma content categories was: = 25% (2755, 47.9), > 25% = 50% (1553, 27) > 50% = 75% (905, 15.8), and > 75% (532, 9.3). There was neither an association between Warburg-subtype and tumour stroma content (p = 0.229) nor between Warburg-subtype and TILs (p = 0.429). This is the first study to investigate the relationship between Warburg-subtypes and the TME in a large population-based series of CRC patients. Our data suggest that the prognostic value of Warburg-subtypes cannot be directly attributed to differences in TILs or tumour stroma content. Our results require confirmation in an independent series.
Original languageEnglish
Article number154518
Number of pages7
JournalPathology Research and Practice
Volume247
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2023

Keywords

  • Colorectal cancer
  • Warburg effect
  • Tumour infiltrating lymphocytes
  • Tumour stromal content
  • LACTIC-ACID
  • INFILTRATION
  • METABOLISM
  • EXPRESSION

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