Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34413168›Full record

ArticleJournal for immunotherapy of cancer2021

Do the benefits of being a smoker hint at the existence of PD-1/PD-L1 sensitizers for patients on single-agent immunotherapy?

Gintaras Zaleskis, Vita Pasukoniene, Dainius Characiejus, Vincas Urbonas

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal for immunotherapy of cancer, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 34% 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

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
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  7. Article
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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

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Gintaras ZaleskisLaboratory of Immunology, Nacionalinis vezio institutas, Vilnius, Lithuania gintaras.zaleskis@nvi.lt.
Vita PasukonieneLaboratory of Immunology, Nacionalinis vezio institutas, Vilnius, Lithuania.
Dainius CharaciejusMedical Faculty, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
Vincas UrbonasLaboratory of Clinical Oncology, Nacionalinis vezio institutas, Vilnius, Lithuania.
Vilnius University · LT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Multiple studies demonstrate significantly better therapeutics outcomes in smokers as compared with never smokers when single-agent immunotherapy is applied. Non-smoker patients usually need a combination of chemoimmunotherapy to achieve comparable or slightly better therapeutic results. This effect is thought to be due to tobacco product-induced upregulation of PD-L1/PD-1 expression and tumor mutational burden score. Genomic transformation, however, cannot entirely explain the upregulation of PD-L1/PL-1 expression in cells following short-term exposure to cytotoxic compounds. Cytotoxic drugs, crude tobacco products, benzo(a)pyrene, nicotine, and multiple other toxic compounds were shown to exhibit rapid PD-L1/PD-1 upregulation. A significant immunomodulatory effect of nicotine via acetylcholine receptors is well documented. However, nicotine activity rapidly subsides when the drug is withdrawn. We hypothesize that smoking cessation might mitigate the benefits of monoimmunotherapy for some patients. Further studies of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor stimulus of immunocytes are needed and might lead to characterization and clinical implementation of new immunotherapy sensitizer products.

Indexed as

HumansImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsImmunotherapySmokersSmoking CessationImmune Checkpoint Inhibitorscellularcombinationdrug evaluationdrug therapyimmunityimmunomodulationimmunotherapypreclinical

Identifiers

PMID34413168
PMCPMC8378371
OpenAlexW3193816493

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.