Regulatory T cells induce a suppressive immune milieu and promote lymph node metastasis in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Background: Emerging evidence indicates that immunogenicity plays an important role in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). Herein, we systematically evaluated the clinical relevance of immunogenicity in ICC.

Methods: Highly immunogenic ICCs identified in the public dataset and the Cancer Immunome Atlas (TCIA) were assessed to determine the prognostic impact of immunogenicity in ICC and key components after curative resection. We also investigated the clinical relevance of the immune milieu in ICC.

Results: Using the Gene Expression Omnibus dataset 89749 and TCIA, we identified CD8/forkhead box P3 (FoxP3) tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (TIM-3) and human leukocyte antigen-A (HLA-A) in highly immunogenic ICCs. Immunohistochemical analysis of the in-house cohort showed that intratumoral FoxP3 TILs correlated with CD8 TILs (P = 0.045, Fisher's exact test) and that high FoxP3/CD8 ratio (FCR) was an important marker for poor survival (P < 0.001, log-rank test). Furthermore, the FCR was higher in tumour-free lymph nodes in ICCs with lymph node metastases than in those without lymph node metastases (P = 0.003, Mann-Whitney U test).

Conclusions: FCR should be considered an important biomarker that represents the immune environment of ICC based on its potentially important role in tumour progression, especially lymph node metastasis.