ArticleBMC gastroenterology2021
Natural killer cell activity is a risk factor for the recurrence risk after curative treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Article in BMC gastroenterology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed.
- Undertreated Volume and Tumor Morphology as Predictors of Outcome Following Thermal Ablation of 3-7-cm Hepatocellular Carcinoma.Journal of vascular and interventional radiology : JVIR · 2025Trial
- Natural Product 4-Acetylantroquinonol B Enhances NK Cell-Mediated Immunity Against Glioblastoma.Cancer medicine · 2026Article
- Pre-Transplant Natural Killer Cell Activity Predicts Survival and Tumor Recurrence After Living Donor Liver Transplantation.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Insomnia and anxiety: exploring their hidden effect on natural killer cells among young female adults.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- Article
- Lymphocyte exhaustion in hepatocellular carcinoma: a dynamic evolution across disease stages.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals anti-tumor potency of CD56Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy · 2024Article
- Review
- Article
- Uncovering essential anesthetics-induced exosomal miRNAs related to hepatocellular carcinoma progression: a bioinformatic investigation.BMC medical genomics · 2024Article
- Sorafenib plus memory like natural killer cell combination therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma.American journal of cancer research · 2024Article
- Review
- Immunotherapy for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma.World journal of gastroenterology · 2023Review
- Deciphering hepatocellular carcinoma pathogenesis and therapeutics: a study on anoikis, ceRNA regulatory network and traditional Chinese medicine.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Article
- Understanding NK cell biology for harnessing NK cell therapies: targeting cancer and beyond.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
- Recent progress in molecular mechanisms of postoperative recurrence and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma.World journal of gastroenterology · 2022Review
- Protein phosphatases regulate the liver microenvironment in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma.Experimental & molecular medicine · 2022Review
- Gross Total Resection Promotes Subsequent Recovery and Further Enhancement of Impaired Natural Killer Cell Activity in Glioblastoma Patients.Brain sciences · 2022Article
- The Functional Roles of Immune Cells in Primary Liver Cancer.The American journal of pathology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNatural killer (NK) cells have been known to contribute to surveillance and control of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the association of NK cell activity with stage and recurrence risk of HCC have not been fully evaluated.
methodsUntreated patients with newly diagnosed HCC were prospectively enrolled. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated at the time of diagnosis. Patients who had undergone surgery or radiofrequency ablation were classified as the curative treatment group, and their blood samples were collected again at 1 month after treatment.
resultsA total of 80 patients with HCC were enrolled. The mean age was 62.5 years. At baseline, interferon (IFN)-γ producing NK cell proportion was significantly lower in patients with Barcelona clinic liver cancer (BCLC) stage B, C, or D than in those with BCLC stage 0 (42.9% vs. 56.8%, P = 0.045). Among all patients, 56 patients had undergone curative treatment, and 42 patients re-visited at 1 month after curative treatment. There was no significant change in total NK cell and IFN-γ producing NK cell proportion from baseline to 1 month after treatment (all P > 0.05). During a median follow-up of 12.4 months, HCC recurred in 14 patients (33.3%). When patients were classified according to the IFN-γ producing NK cell proportion (group 1, ≥ 45%; and group 2, < 45%), HCC recurrence rate did not differ according to the IFN-γ producing NK cell proportion at baseline (log-rank test, P = 0.835). However, patients with < 45% IFN-γ producing NK cell proportion at 1 month after treatment had a significantly higher HCC recurrence rate than patients with that of ≥ 45% (log-rank test, P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that BCLC stage B (hazard ratio [HR] = 3.412, P = 0.045) and < 45% IFN-γ producing NK cell proportion at 1 month after treatment (HR = 6.934, P = 0.001) independently predicted an increased risk of HCC recurrence.
conclusionsDecreased NK cell activity is significantly associated with the advanced stage of HCC, and the increased recurrence risk of HCC after curative treatment.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.