| Target gene expression | n | Tissues | p Value* | T/NT ratio | |
| Non-tumoural | Tumoural | ||||
| Fas ligand | (45) | 1390 (463–2055) | 2294 (964–3842) | <0.001 | |
| MSS | (31) | 1500 (274–2040) | 1731 (708–3376) | 0.01 | 1.7 |
| MSI-H | (14) | 1275 (750–2154) | 3305 (2031–7821) | 0.02 | 2.6 |
| p Value† | 0.68 | ||||
| Perforin | (45) | 13.2 (8.1–17.9) | 19.3 (13.2–41.5) | 0.002 | |
| MSS | (31) | 13.5 (8.8–20.9) | 17.1 (11.3–35.1) | 0.07 | 1.2 |
| MSI-H | (14) | 8.9 (5.4–18.5) | 38.5 (18.5–69.0) | 0.009 | 3.2 |
| p Value† | 0.003 | ||||
| Granzyme A | (45) | 1.6 (1.0–2.6) | 1.6 (1.0–2.0)1 | 0.72 | |
| MSS | (31) | 1.6 (1.2–2.5) | 1.5 (.9–2.0) | ||
| MSI-H | (14) | 1.6 (0.9–2.6) | 2.1 (1.6–3.5) | ||
| p Value† | |||||
| Granzyme B | (45) | 5555 (2992–11 501) | 19 065 (14 440–30 586) | <0.0001 | |
| MSS | (31) | 5545 (2586–7640) | 16 289 (9396–23 507) | <0.0001 | 3.4 |
| MSI-H | (14) | 7915 (4167–14 431) | 24758 (17 223–61 150) | 0.006 | 4.1 |
| p Value† | 0.71 | ||||
| IL4 | (45) | 99 (48–421) | 238 (120–450) | 0.06 | |
| MSS | (31) | 81 (46–421) | 238 (120–450) | ||
| MSI-H | (14) | 124 (50–515) | 203 (91–471) | ||
| p Value† | |||||
| IL10 | (45) | 227 (88–529) | 284 (199–527) | 0.06 | |
| MSS | (31) | 250 (76–646) | 284 (203–509) | 1.7 | |
| MSI-H | (14) | 154 (106–529) | 317 (143–654) | 1.2 | |
| p Value† | 0.68 | ||||
| IL17 | (45) | 0.6 (0.2–1.8) | 4.5 (1.8–11.5) | <0.0001 | |
| MSS | (31) | 0.5 (0.2–1.8) | 7.2 (2.3–18.8) | <0.0001 | 13.7 |
| MSI-H | (14) | 1.4 (0.6–2.0) | 2.4 (0.4–4.4) | 0.30 | 1.4 |
| p Value† | 0.002 | ||||
| Foxp3 | (45) | 2.7 (1.7–4.0) | 15.6 (11.2–20.1) | <0.001 | |
| MSS | (31) | 2.6 (1.7–3.9) | 16.0 (13.7–21.0) | <0.0001 | 6.8 |
| MSI-H | (14) | 3.1 (1.7–6.2) | 10.5 (3.9–19.7) | 0.07 | 3.2 |
| p Value† | 0.04 | ||||
Results are expressed as median (first–third quartiles) of the ratio of target gene to CD3 mRNA copy numbers.
*p Value of the paired non-parametric comparisons between tumoural and non-tumoural tissues (Wilcoxon signed-rank test).
†p Value of the non-parametric comparisons between MSS and MSI-H phenotypes. After using the Bonferroni correction for multiple testing, p⩽0.003 was considered statistically significant and these values are indicated in bold.
Foxp3, forkhead box P3; IL, interleukin; MSS, microsatellite stability; MSI-H, high-frequency microsatellite instability; NT, non-tumoural; T, tumoural.