Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34988169›Full record

ArticleAnnals of translational medicine2021

The role of TGF-β pathway alterations in immune regulation as a potential pan-cancer biomarker in immunotherapy.

Yan Liang, Wei Li, Bing Qian, Jie Ming, Zhengyi Zhao, Zhengqing Yan, Xiaochen Zhao, Shiqing Chen, Yongmei Yin

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Annals of translational medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
0.1field-weighted citation impact, top 51% 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

0 citing papers in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

9 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Yan Liang *Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Wei Li *Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Bing QianNanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital Jiangsu Cancer Hospital, Jiangsu Cancer Institute, Nanjing, China.
Jie MingThe Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.
Zhengyi ZhaoThe Medical Department, 3D Medicines Inc., Shanghai, China.
Zhengqing YanThe Medical Department, 3D Medicines Inc., Shanghai, China.
Xiaochen ZhaoThe Medical Department, 3D Medicines Inc., Shanghai, China.
Shiqing ChenThe Medical Department, 3D Medicines Inc., Shanghai, China.
Yongmei YinDepartment of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Nanjing Medical University · CNJiangsu Cancer Hospital · CNJiangsu Province Hospital · CNQingdao University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDepending on the context, the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) signaling pathway is involved in opposing cell processes of tumor suppression and tumor promotion. However, the effects of TGF-β pathway on immunotherapy efficacy have not yet been systematically investigated.

methodsIn this study, we have extracted the available data of whole-exome sequencing, messenger RNA (mRNA) expression, baseline characterization, and prognosis information of 10,912 pan-cancer patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas to explore the role of TGF-β pathway in immune regulation. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples from 6,717 Chinese cancer patients assayed by next-generation sequencing (NGS) were used as a validation cohort (3DMed cohort). Data sets from the public MSK (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) cohort (N=1,610) were used to explore the association of TGF-β pathway with immunotherapy effects.

resultsThe results showed that TGF-β pathway alteration was significantly correlated with high microsatellite instability (MSI), high tumor mutational burden, and high neoantigen burden (TNB) (P<0.001 for each). Consistently, the pathway mutations were associated with distinct patterns of immune-related gene expression and tumor-infiltrating immune cells. Patients with TGF-β pathway mutations exhibited significantly worse prognosis than did the wild-type patients regardless of the interventions [overall survival (OS): hazard ratio (HR) 1.20; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.08-1.33; P=0.001]. However, when treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), superior survival benefit was observed in patients from the mutation group versus the wild-type group (OS: HR 0.73; 95% CI: 0.61-0.88; P=0.001).

conclusionsCollectively, our study suggested that mutations in TGF-β pathway may be associated with positive immune regulation and better efficacy of immunotherapy.

Indexed as

immune regulationmicrosatellite instability (MSI)Next-generation sequencing (NGS)solid tumors

Identifiers

PMID34988169
PMCPMC8667138
OpenAlexW3217378618

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.