Fig. 2

Spatial heterogeneity of TLS influences immune cell density in the tumour microenvironment. A–C Representative images of tumour core (A), invasion margin (B), and normal region (C). TLS, tertiary lymphoid structure; TC-TLS, TLS in the tumour core; TC-Stroma, stroma regions in the tumour core; IM-TLS, TLS in the invasion margin; IM-non-TLS, invasion margin excluding TLS; N-TLS, TLS in the normal tissue; N-non-TLS, normal tissue excluding TLS. D–F Density of tumour-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs) of tumour core (D), invasion margin (E), and normal tissue (F). Box and whiskers represent mean ± 10–90 percentile. Three groups were compared: Kruskal–Wallis test with Dunn’s multiple comparison test. Two groups were compared: Wilcox test. Each point represents one patient. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 and not significant (ns)