Tertiary lymphoid structures are associated with favorable survival outcomes in patients with endometrial cancer

Immunotherapy has experienced remarkable growth recently. Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) and B cells may play a key role in the immune response and have a survival benefit in some solid tumors, but there have been no reports about their role in endometrial cancer (EC). We investigated the clinicopathological and pathobiological characteristics of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in EC. Patients with EC at Kyoto University Hospital during 2006–2011 were retrospectively included. In 104 patients with EC who met study inclusion criteria, 81 (77.9%) had TLSs, which consisted of areas rich in CD20(+) B cells, CD8(+) T cells, CD4(+) T cells, and CD38(+) plasma cells. The absence of TLS was independently associated with tumor progression (HR, 0.154; 95% CI, 0.044–0.536; P = 0.003). Patients with TLSs that included CD23(+) germinal centers had better PFS. All tumor infiltrating lymphocytes were counted in the intratumor site. The number of CD20(+) B cells was significantly larger in patients with TLSs than in those without TLS (P < 0.001). CD20(+) B cells numbers were positively correlated with other TLSs. The larger number of CD20(+) B cell was associated with better PFS (P = 0.015). TLSs and B cell infiltration into tumors are associated with favorable survival outcomes in patients with EC. They may represent an active immune reaction of the TME in endometrial cancer. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00262-021-03093-1.