Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 25, 2026

Non-invasive Assessment of the Efficacy of New Therapeutics for Intestinal Pathologies Using Serial Endoscopic Imaging of Live Mice
Published on: March 10, 2015
Colorectal cancer in the young: a possible role for immune surveillance?
Alain Fiorot1, Anna Pozza1, Cesare Ruffolo1
1a Department of Surgery, IV Unit of Surgery , Regional Hospital "Cà Foncello" , Treviso , Italy.
Background:
Younger patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) generally have better survival in spite of worse clinical and pathological features.
Methods:
Twenty-six patients under 50 years operated for primary CRC were enrolled and matched 1:2:2 according to stage, tumor site and gender with 52 patients from 50 to 70 years and 52 patients over 70 years old.
Results:
Patients under 50 years had a significantly longer overall, cancer specific and disease free survival (p = .001, p = .007 and p = .05, respectively). However, they had more frequently lymphovascular invasion (p = .006) and they more frequently developed metachronous CRC at follow-up (p = .03). Nevertheless, preoperative lymphocytes blood count/white blood count (LBC/WBC) ratio inversely correlated with age at operation (rho = -.21, p = .04) and it predicted CRC recurrence with an accuracy of 70%, p < .001 (threshold value LBC/WBC = 0.21%) and better overall, cancer specific and disease free survival (p < .0001 for all). At multivariate analysis, stage and LBC/WBC ratio resulted independent predictors of disease free survival (p = .0001 and p = .01, respectively).
Conclusions:
Patients under 50 years had a significantly longer survival with a higher LBC/WBC ratio. These results could suggest a possible role of immunosurveillance in neoplastic control.
Related Concept Videos
Immune Surveillance by NK Cells and Phagocytes
Natural Killer Cells: The Fast Responders
NK cells are large granular lymphocytes found in the blood and lymphatic system. These...
Cancer Prevention
Some...
Cancer Vaccines
Cancer vaccines come in two categories: preventive (prophylactic) and treatment (active). Preventive vaccines, such as the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, protect against viruses that cause certain...
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...

