Tumor-infiltrating plasmacytoid dendritic cells are associated with survival in human colon cancer.

These results indicate that higher densities of tumor-infiltrating pDCs are associated with prolonged survival of patients with colon cancer. Moreover, colon cancer-infiltrating pDCs may represent a novel prognostic factor. The colocalization of activated pDCs and T cells in tumor stroma and within TLS may contribute to the correlation between higher pDC densities and better prognosis. In addition, our findings may have implications for the design of novel immunotherapeutic strategies that are based on targeting colon cancer-infiltrating pDCs.