Evidence map›Paper›PMID 21644036›Full record

ArticleCancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII2011

Elevated myeloid-derived suppressor cells in pancreatic, esophageal and gastric cancer are an independent prognostic factor and are associated with significant elevation of the Th2 cytokine interleukin-13.

Rachel F Gabitass, Nicola E Annels, Deborah D Stocken, Hardev A Pandha, Gary W Middleton

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Cancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 365 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
365citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
15.8field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

365 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 564 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. Immune Correlates of GM-CSF and Melanoma Peptide Vaccination in a Randomized Trial for the Adjuvant Therapy of Resected High-Risk Melanoma (E4697).Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research · 2017
    Trial
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  11. Molecular insights into immune evasion and therapeutic paradigms in pancreatic cancer.Chinese journal of cancer research = Chung-kuo yen cheng yen chiu · 2025
    Article
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305 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Rachel F GabitassOncology Department, Postgraduate Medical School, University of Surrey, Surrey GU2 7WG, UK.
Nicola E Annels
Deborah D Stocken
Hardev A Pandha
Gary W Middleton
University of Surrey · GBUniversity of Birmingham · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We undertook a comprehensive analysis of circulating myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and T regulatory cells (Tregs) in pancreatic, esophageal and gastric cancer patients and investigated whether MDSCs are an independent prognostic factor for survival. We evaluated a series of plasma cytokines and in particular re-evaluated the Th2 cytokine interleukin-13 (IL-13). Peripheral blood was collected from 131 cancer patients (46 pancreatic, 60 esophageal and 25 gastric) and 54 healthy controls. PBMC were harvested with subsequent flow cytometric analysis of MDSC (HLADR(-) Lin1(low/-) CD33(+) CD11b(+)) and Treg (CD4(+) CD25(+) CD127(low/-) FoxP3(+)) percentages. Plasma IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12 (p70), IL-13, IL-17, G-CSF, IFN-γ, TNF-α and VEGF levels were analyzed by the Bio-Plex cytokine assay. Plasma arginase I levels were analyzed by ELISA. MDSCs and Tregs were statistically significantly elevated in pancreatic, esophageal and gastric cancer compared with controls, and MDSC numbers correlated with Treg levels. Increasing MDSC percentage was associated with increased risk of death, and in a multivariate analysis, MDSC level was an independent prognostic factor for survival. A unit increase in MDSC percentage was associated with a 22% increased risk of death (hazard ratio 1.22, 95% confidence interval 1.06-1.41). Arginase I levels were also statistically significantly elevated in upper gastrointestinal cancer patients compared with controls. There was Th2 skewing for cytokine production in all three diseases, and importantly there were significant elevations of the pivotal Th2 cytokine interleukin-13, an increase that correlated with MDSC levels.

Indexed as

Cell SeparationEnzyme-Linked Immunosorbent AssayEsophageal NeoplasmsFemaleFlow CytometryHumansImmunophenotypingInterleukin-13Kaplan-Meier EstimateMaleMyeloid CellsPancreatic NeoplasmsPrognosisProportional Hazards ModelsStomach NeoplasmsTh2 CellsInterleukin-13

Identifiers

PMID21644036
PMCPMC3176406
OpenAlexW2068994108

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.