NLRP3 and neoplasm: We may consider the following reasons for such differential results of NLRP3 expression: We used a scoring system to assess the visual intensity of IHC staining and the proportion of positive cells, which is a semi-quantitative analysis as opposed to using quantitative detection methods such as PCR or Western blot; we involved fewer samples than the previous study did; from the clinical characteristics, the different proportions of tumor grade and the positive receptor may be the reasons for the difference between the two studies; ethnic differences in Asia and Europe can also have an impact.