World J Surg Oncol
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High-degree microsatellite instability (MSI-H) is a feature of approximately 15% of sporadic colorectal cancers. Patients with MSI-H cancers have been reported to have a better prognosis than those with non-MSI-H cancers. The MSI-H subset is also characterised by a dense infiltrate of intra-epithelial lymphocytes and the hypothesis that the latter represents an efficacious immune response contributing to improved outcome is very attractive. ⋯ It is suggested that this distinct group of colorectal cancers may have inherent immunogenic properties and that further elucidation of these may be invaluable to the development of successful immunotherapy.