This may reflect the homeostatic role of Tregs which accompany effector T cells in the setting of an active anti-tumour immune response (12), however could also be due to FoxP3 expression as a result of T cell activation (42, 43).Of note, high TM, but not TC, CD163+ cell infiltration was associated with poor survival, which was evident even in the presence of high TM CD8+ cell infiltration. Here, CD163 is linked to neoplasm.