Fig. 2

Distribution of infiltrating immune cells and selective enrichment of B cells in the tumor microenvironment. a The abundance of infiltrating CD8 T cells, macrophages, and B cells in 18 cancer types, with both primary tumor and adjacent (Adj)/normal (Norm) tissue available. Normal tissue was from healthy donors where adjacent tissues were unavailable. Statistical significance was evaluated by Wilcoxon rank sum test. Blue arrowheads point to three cancers with B cells significantly enriched in the primary tumor and associated with clinical outcomes. q values are colored red, blue, or black for significant (false discovery rate ≤ 0.15) enrichment in tumor, adjacent or normal tissue, or insignificance, respectively. b B-cell infiltration level significantly predicted patient survival in selected cancer types. Tumors in the top 20th percentile of B-cell infiltration were compared with those in the bottom 20th percentile. The median survival time for the top 20 % of patients with brain, lung, and bladder cancers was 460, 1778, and 2000 days, respectively, and for the bottom 20 % 345, 976, and 575 days, respectively. Statistical significance and hazard ratios (HR) with 95 % confidence intervals were calculated for all the samples, not just the top and bottom 20 %, using multivariate Cox regression including all six immune cell types, patient age, and clinical stage