IRF7 expression was positively correlated with the infiltration of CD4+ T cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells in patients with colon cancer; its expression in patients with rectal cancer was negatively correlated with the infiltration level of CD8+ T cells, and positively correlated with the infiltration of CD4+ T cells and dendritic cells (Fig. 5A, B; Additional file 2: Figure S2). Here, CD4 is linked to rectal cancer.