High-dimensional imaging of colorectal carcinoma and other tumors with 50+ markers

We have used CODEX to image 56 proteins simultaneously in 140 tissue regions from the tumor invasive front of 35 advanced-stage colorectal cancer (CRC) patients (17 patients with Crohn's-like reaction (CLR) - leading to high amount of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS); and 18 patients with diffuse inflammatory infiltration (DII) and no TLS). These patients were selected from an initial cohort of 715 CRC patients. Patients with low-stage CRC (pTNM 0-2), pre-operative chemotherapy, insufficient material, and low immune infiltration were excluded. The 35 resulting patients were matched for age, sex and tumor characteristics. CLR patients had a much better survival compared to DII patients.