Fig. 4: Relationships between the nTILs and pathological and radiological responses.

a Waterfall chart illustrating the % reduction in viable tumors in patients with necrosis, as assessed by pathological examination of surgically resected tumor samples. The radiological response of each patient was also evaluated and denoted here with the different colors of the bars (CR-complete radiological response; PR-partial radiological response; SD-stable disease; PD-progressive disease). The dashed line represents the cutoff for major pathological response (90% tumor regression); the pathologic response and patient outcome are color-coded and listed beneath the chart. b CD8⁺ nTIL density in patients with necrosis. c, d The correlation between the reduction in tumor size as determined by radiological assessment (according to RECIST criteria, version 1.1) and the pathologic response (c) or CD8⁺ nTIL density (d) in each surgical specimen. RECIST Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, version 1.1. e Kaplan‒Meier curves showing EFS by radiological response. Patient number: 186; Event number: 31; median follow-up (survivors): 26 months; (f) Prediction of patient outcome on the basis of different parameters. The value of the AUC represents the prediction quality