Association between local T-cell infiltration and activation/proliferation and survival in NSCLC patients not treated with immune checkpoint blockade. a Immunofluorescent staining of a lung tumor with low (a) and high (b) T-cell activation/proliferation. Slides were simultaneously stained with a multiplex QIF panel containing CD3 (red), Ki-67 (green), GZB (white), DAPI (blue), and cytokeratin (yellow). Bar = 100 μm. b Distribution of in situ CD3 (red, left Y axis), T-cell GZB (magenta, right Y axis) and T-cell Ki-67 signal (green, right Y axis) in lung tumors from patients not receiving immune checkpoint blockers. c Association between the level of T-cell GZB and T-cell Ki-67 in the cohort. R = Spearman’s correlation coefficient. The P value for the correlation is indicated within each chart. d Kaplan–Meier graphical analysis of 5-year overall survival of NSCLC cases not treated with immune checkpoint blockers according to their TIL activation subtypes. A type 1 TIL pattern was with low CD3, a type 2 pattern with high CD3 but low T-cell GZB/Ki-6; and a type 3 TIL phenotype with high CD3 and elevated T-cell GZB/Ki-67. The number of cases in each group and the log-rank P value is indicated in the chart