When the tissue-based inflammatory factors alone, including T lymphocytes, tumour-associated macrophages, microvessel density and Ki-67 proliferation index, were considered in the multivariate analysis, only increased tumour microvessel density CD34+ (HR 2.42, 95% CI 1.16–5.03, P=0.018) was independently associated with poorer cancer-specific survival. Here, MKI67 is linked to cancer.