ArticleTranslational oncology2021
NK cell infiltration is associated with improved overall survival in solid cancers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Article in Translational oncology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 127 papers.
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Who cites it
127 citing papers in PubMed, 188 citations in OpenAlex.
- High-Intensity Interval Training Boosts Immune Cells in Advanced Cancer Patients and Healthy Controls: Implications for Cancer Care.Cancer medicine · 2026Trial
- Augmenting Granzyme B-Expressing NK Cells by Invariant NKT Ligand-Loaded APCs in Patients with Postoperative Early Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Results of a Randomized Phase II Study.ImmunoHorizons · 2023Trial
- TNF-α deficiency underlies NK cell dysfunction in colorectal cancer.Oncoimmunology · 2026Article
- Review
- Next-generation natural killer cell therapy: bench to bedside and beyond.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2026Review
- Selective estrogen receptor degraders and their effect on the breast cancer immune microenvironment.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2026Review
- Distinct NK cell dynamics in SARIFA positive colorectal cancer patients indicate persistent patient-intrinsic immune signatures after tumor resection.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Natural Killer Cell Assays: Clinical Applications and Future Directions.Annals of laboratory medicine · 2026Review
- Tumor-Infiltrating Natural Killer Cell Characterization in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.Cells · 2026Article
- Immune checkpoint inhibitor resistance in dMMR high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia with lynch syndrome-associated colon cancer: a case report.BMC gastroenterology · 2026Article
- Transcriptional Profile Change of NK-92 Cells in Presence of Cytokines, TGFβ Signaling Pathway Inhibitor and CDK7/12/13 Kinase Inhibitor.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Transcriptomic deconvolution reveals prognostic immune signatures and immunotherapy-responsive subtypes in male breast cancer.Breast cancer research : BCR · 2026Article
- Molecular immune signature identifies microglia and NK cell infiltration as a favorable prognostic marker in adult-type high-grade glioma.ESMO open · 2026Article
- Effective allogeneic natural killer cell therapy for pancreatic adenocarcinoma avails conserved activating receptors and evades HLA I-driven inhibition.Journal for immunotherapy of cancer · 2026Article
- Pipe dream to pipeline: Journey of cancer vaccines and the road ahead.Cell reports. Medicine · 2026Review
- The Bioinformatics and Experimental Analysis of CD276 for Prognosis and Immune Infiltrates in Colon Adenocarcinoma.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2026Article
- The Inclusion of Dietary and Medicinal Mushrooms into Translational Oncology: Pros and Cons at the Molecular Level.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Targeting NKG2DLs with an ADCC enhanced fusion protein for induction of NK cell reactivity against ovarian cancer.Journal of ovarian research · 2026Article
- Towards the tumor microenvironment scoring methods for immune checkpoint inhibitor response.NPJ precision oncology · 2026Article
- PD‑L1 deficient exosomes derived from lung cancer cell line enhances NK cell‑mediated anti‑tumor immunity against lung cancer.Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2026Article
67 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The immune landscape of a tumor is highly connected to patient prognosis and response to treatment, but little is known about how natural killer (NK) cells predict overall survival (OS) among patients with solid tumors. We present the first meta-analysis on NK cell infiltration into solid tumors as a prognostic indicator for OS, considering cancer types independently, and together. Samples were collected from 1973 to 2016 with results published between 1989 and 2020. From 53 studies, we found that NK cell infiltration corresponds with decreased risk of death (HR=0.34, 95% CI: 0.26-0.46; p<0.0001). Among studies that investigated the prognostic potential of NK cells in specific regions of the tumor, intraepithelial infiltration was better predictive of OS than NK infiltration in the tumor-adjacent stroma. Generally, NK cell infiltration is lower in advanced-stage and lower-grade tumors; nevertheless, it remains prognostically beneficial. This meta-analysis highlights an important prognostic role of NK cells in solid tumors, but exposes that few studies have considered the contributions of NK cells. Toward NK cell-based immunotherapies, it will be important to understand the conditions under which NK cells can be effective agents of tumor control.
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