Spatial organization of neutrophil and macrophage populations in surgically treated hepatocellular carcinoma: a practical tissue-based immunophenotyping study

Background and aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a spatially heterogeneous immune microenvironment, but the compartment-specific distribution of tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) and its relationship with systemic inflammation remain incompletely defined. This study characterized CD177-defined neutrophil populations and other immune components across HCC tissue compartments and examined their associations with peripheral neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR).