Effect of tumor-stroma ratio in prognosis evaluation of tumor

Tumor-stroma ratio is the ratio of tumor cells and stromal tissue. It can be evaluated through HE-stained sections. Usually a 50% cut-off value is taken. TSR is stratified as stroma rich (TSR<50%) and stroma poor (TSR≥50%). The different prognosis between the two groups can be assessed. Several previous studies show that TSR is an independent prognostic factor for colon carcinoma, breast cancer, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, cervical carcinoma and non-small cell lung cancer; patients with stroma-rich tumor suffer worse prognosis. The cause might be that tumor cells could activate stroma cells while activated stroma cells could promote the growth, infiltration and metastasis of tumors. And tumor stroma should be recognized as an indispensible participant in progression and invasion of carcinoma. Key words: Neoplasmas; Prognosis; Tumor-stroma ratio