Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32139873›Full record

ArticleModern pathology : an official journal of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, Inc2020

Looking past PD-L1: expression of immune checkpoint TIM-3 and its ligand galectin-9 in cervical and vulvar squamous neoplasia.

Jacob Curley, Mark R Conaway, Zachary Chinn, Linda Duska, Mark Stoler, Anne M Mills

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In one paragraph

Article in Modern pathology : an official journal of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, Inc, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
27citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.0field-weighted citation impact, top 12% 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

27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 45 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Galectin-9-An Emerging Glyco-Immune Checkpoint Target for Cancer Therapy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Review
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  6. Article
  7. Article
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  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
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  18. Targeting immune checkpoints in gynecologic cancer: updates & perspectives for pathologists.Modern pathology : an official journal of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, Inc · 2022
    Review
  19. Article
  20. Review
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

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Jacob CurleyDepartment of Pathology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Mark R ConawayDepartment of Public Health Sciences, Division of Translational Research and Applied Statistics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Zachary ChinnDepartment of Pathology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Linda DuskaDepartments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Mark StolerDepartment of Pathology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Anne M MillsDepartment of Pathology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA. AnneMills1@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2686-4857
University of Virginia · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Immunotherapies targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway have shown some success in cervical and vulvar squamous cell carcinomas, but little is known about the potential vulnerability of these tumors to other checkpoint inhibitors. TIM-3 is a checkpoint molecule that exerts immunosuppressive function via its interaction with Gal-9. TIM-3 and Gal-9 have been identified on a variety of malignancies but have not been studied in cervical and vulvar cancers, nor has their relationship to PD-L1 been established. Sixty-three cervical and vulvar invasive (n = 34) and intraepithelial lesions (n = 29) were assessed for TIM-3, Gal-9, and PD-L1 in tumor/lesional cells and associated immune cells. Tumoral TIM-3 expression was identified in 85% of squamous cell carcinomas but only 21% of intraepithelial lesions (p < 0.0001). When immune cells were also accounted for, 97% of invasive and 41% of intraepithelial lesions had a TIM-3 combined positive score (CPS) ≥ 1 (p < 0.0001). Tumoral membranous expression of Gal-9 was seen in 82% of squamous cell carcinomas and 31% of intraepithelial lesions (p = 0.0001); nearly all cases had Gal-9-positive immune cells. Tumoral PD-L1 was seen in 71% of squamous cell carcinomas and 10% of intraepithelial lesions (p < 0.0001), while the PD-L1 CPS was ≥1 in 82 and 21%, respectively (p < 0.0001). There were no significant differences in TIM-3, GAL-9, or PD-L1 expression in cervical vs. vulvar neoplasms, nor was HPV status significantly associated with any of the three markers. Dual TIM-3/Gal-9 expression was present in the majority (86%) of PD-L1-positive cases including 100% of PD-L1-positive squamous cell carcinomas, suggesting a possible role for TIM-3 checkpoint inhibition in concert with anti-PD-1/PD-L1.

Indexed as

AdultB7-H1 AntigenBiomarkers, TumorCarcinoma, Squamous CellFemaleGalectinsHepatitis A Virus Cellular Receptor 2HumansLymphocytes, Tumor-InfiltratingUterine Cervical NeoplasmsVulvar NeoplasmsB7-H1 AntigenBiomarkers, TumorGalectinsHAVCR2 protein, humanHepatitis A Virus Cellular Receptor 2LGALS9 protein, human

Identifiers

PMID32139873
OpenAlexW3010050240

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.