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Recent studies suggest that immune  classification (immune-score) in cancer patients has a prognostic value in some cases that seems to be superior to the AJCC/ UICC TNM  classification. The clinical outcome can vary significantly among patients with a particular diagnosis within the same TNM stage. Immunoscore methodology quantifies and detects different types of immune cells in tumor tissue, and also determines the density of their infiltration and localization at the tumor site. Currently within an international collaboration of 23 centers in 17 countries (including our department), immunoscore is being evaluated in more than 7,000 colorectal cancer patients in terms of the tumor microenvironment, focusing on the presence of immune cells both in the tumor tissue and the tumor invasive margin. Immunoscore results are assessed in correlation with: 1. patients response to the treatment, 2. rate of progression, disease prognosis and other immune parameters. It appears that the TNM classification and tumor invasiveness is statistically dependent on the immune response of the patient (there is an inverse correlation between the density of the infiltration of CD8⁺, CD3⁺ lymphocytes and the tumor stage). High densities of T-lymphocytes (CD8⁺, CD3⁺) both in the core and the invasive margin of the primary tumor are associated with longer term asymptomatic survival, overall survival, lower risk of relapse and reduced likelihood of metastases. The project of the international collaboration aims to introduce immunoscore in routine diagnostics.

Background and Aims. Deoxyribonuclease I (DNaseI) is an endonuclease that facilitates chromatin breakdown and promotes susceptibility to autoimmune disorders. The aim of current study was to investigate serum DNase I activity in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Patients and Methods. A cohort of 110 IBD patients was evaluated, aged 35 ± 12 years, 77 with Crohn's disease (CD) and 33 with ulcerative colitis (UC). 50 SLE patients and 50 healthy blood donors were examined as control groups. Results. DNase I activity in IBD patients was significantly lower than in healthy individuals, but higher than in SLE patients (P < .0001). Patients with UC showed higher DNase I activity than CD patients, P = .21. DNase I activity in female patients with IBD was significantly lower than in males, P = .024; however, no differences in DNase I activity were found in relation to gender in healthy individuals. DNase I activity has shown a strong negative correlation with the serum concentration of anti-nucleosomal antibodies in the autoimmune (SLE + IBD) cohort, as well as in the separate IBD cohort. Conclusions. Reduced serum DNase I activity probably has pathogenetic consequences in IBD. Induction of autoantibodies towards nucleosomes could be a reflection of impaired DNase I activity.