We previously found an inverse association between mutant KRAS and cytotoxic CD8+ T cell (CTL) tumor infiltrate in stage I–III colorectal cancer (CRC) from the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU-6thAH)9, which was confirmed herein using a different cohort from Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (SYSUCC) containing 101 patients with stage IV CRC (Supplementary Fig. 1A). Here, CD8A is linked to neoplasm.