Association between local immune cell infiltration, mismatch repair status and systemic inflammatory response in colorectal cancer.

There was a significant negative relationship between SIR, defined as an elevated CRP, and intratumor stromal infiltration by T-regulatory FOXP3+ cells. This and the fact that all cases with a CRP > 75 mg/l had pMMR suggests that SIR and dMMR are independent entities in CRC. Indeed, the general lack of difference in CRP between cases with dMMR and pMMR may be evidence of overlap in cases with a less pronounced SIR.