Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35003899›Full record

ArticleOncoimmunology2022

Landscape of cancer-associated fibroblasts identifies the secreted biglycan as a protumor and immunosuppressive factor in triple-negative breast cancer.

Shaoquan Zheng, Yutian Zou, Yuhui Tang, Anli Yang, Jie-Ying Liang, Linyu Wu, Wenwen Tian, Weikai Xiao, Xinhua Xie, Lu Yang and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Oncoimmunology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
71citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
11.3field-weighted citation impact, top 1% 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

71 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 91 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
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  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. A Metastasis-competent CAF Subpopulation Defined byRecent patents on anti-cancer drug discovery · 2026
    Article
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  12. ExosomalIranian journal of public health · 2025
    Article
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11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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

13 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Shaoquan ZhengDepartment of Breast Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Yutian ZouDepartment of Breast Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Yuhui TangDepartment of Breast Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Anli YangDepartment of Breast Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Jie-Ying LiangState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Linyu WuDepartment of Breast Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Wenwen TianDepartment of Breast Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Weikai XiaoDepartment of Breast Cancer, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital and Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Xinhua XieDepartment of Breast Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Lu YangDepartment of Radiotherapy, Cancer Center, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital and Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Jindong XieDepartment of Breast Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Weidong WeiDepartment of Breast Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Xiaoming XieDepartment of Breast Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Sun Yat-sen University · CNGuangdong Academy of Medical Sciences · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are essential for tumor microenvironment remodeling and correlate with tumor progression. However, interactions between CAFs and tumor cells and immune cells in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) are still poorly explored. Here, we investigate the role of CAFs in TNBC and potential novel mediators of their functions. The clustering of classic markers was applied to estimate the relative abundance of CAFs in TNBC cohorts. Primary fibroblasts were isolated from normal and tumor samples. The RNA and culture medium of fibroblasts were subjected to RNA sequencing and mass spectrometry to explore the upregulated signatures in CAFs. Microdissection and single-cell RNA sequencing datasets were used to examine the expression profiles. CAFs were associated with hallmark signalings and immune components in TNBC. Clustering based on CAF markers in the literature revealed different CAF infiltration groups in TNBC: low, medium and high. Most of the cancer hallmark signaling pathways were enriched in the high CAF infiltration group. Furthermore, RNA sequencing and mass spectrometry identified biglycan (BGN), a soluble secreted protein, as upregulated in CAFs compared to normal cancer-adjacent fibroblasts (NAFs). The expression of biglycan was negatively correlated with CD8 + T cells. Biglycan indicated poor prognostic outcomes and might be correlated with the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). In conclusion, CAFs play an essential role in tumor progression and the TME. We identified an extracellular protein, biglycan, as a prognostic marker and potential therapeutic target in TNBC.

Indexed as

Cancer-Associated FibroblastsTriple Negative Breast NeoplasmsBiglycanFibroblastsHumansTumor MicroenvironmentBiglycanbiglycancancer-associated fibroblastextracellular matriximmune microenvironmentTriple-negative breast cancer

Identifiers

PMID35003899
PMCPMC8741292
OpenAlexW4205267867

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.