Prognostic value of TILS (tumor infiltrates lymphocytes) and PET in pleural mesothelioma: retrospective analysis of monocentric experience

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a relatively rare but aggressive cancer with poor prognosis. A therapeutic gold-standard doesn’t exist, so the treatment is nowadays object of randomized clinical trials. A high SUV (standard uptake value) at preoperative positron emission tomography (PET) is a prognostic value of worse prognosis. The histological analysis of tumorinfiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) has increased importance in different cancers, for prognostic value and for immunotherapies. In MPM it’s not known if SUV is higher in case of high lymphocytic concentration (TILs) in tumoral tissue. This kind of analysis was conducted in different studies with no clear evidence of a prognostic value of lymphocytes assessment. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether in MPM there is an association between SUV, histotype, TILs score and subtypes, and clinical outcomes.