ObjectiveTo investigate the clinicopathological significance of tumor-associated neutrophil (TAN) and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in colorectal cancer (CRC). MethodsThe medical records of 100 patients with CRC who were followed up for more than 5 years were retrospectively analyzed. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to detect TAN infiltration, immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expressions of EMT markers (E-cadherin and vimentin), Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to compare the survival of CRC patients with different TAN infiltration conditions, and Spearman′s correlation analysis was used to explore the correlations between TAN infiltration and EMT markers′ expressions. ResultsOf the 100 CRC patients, 29 had TAN infiltration in CRC tissues. The immunohistochemical staining score of E-cadherin in CRC tissues was lower than that in normal pericarcinous tissues, and the immunohistochemical staining score of vimentin in CRC tissues was higher than that in normal pericarcinous tissues (all P<0.05). The TNM stage and lymph node metastasis of CRC patients with TAN infiltration were worse than those without TAN infiltration (all P<0.05). The results of the Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed that the cumulative survival rate of CRC patients with TAN infiltration was lower than that of CRC patients without TAN infiltration (P<0.05). The results of Spearman′s correlation analysis showed that TAN infiltration was negatively correlated with the E-cadherin expression (rs=-0.498, P<0.05) but was positively correlated with the vimentin expression (rs=0.611, P<0.05). ConclusionsTAN infiltration is negatively correlated with the E-cadherin expression but is positively correlated with the vimentin expression; TAN may promote the growth and metastasis of CRC by participating in the EMT process.