Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37644433›Full record

ArticleJournal of translational medicine2023

Identifying prognostic markers in spatially heterogeneous breast cancer microenvironment.

Guohong Liu, Liping Wang, Lili Ji, Dan He, Lihua Zeng, Guangzheng Zhuo, Qian Zhang, Dujuan Wang, Yunbao Pan

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of translational medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 20% 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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Decoding the breast cancer microenvironment by spatial multi-omics: from architecture to clinical translation.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. IntratumoralInternational journal of biological sciences · 2025
    Article
  6. Review
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 2 institutions in 1 country.

Guohong Liu *Department of Radiology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, No.169 Donghu Road, Wuchang District, Wuhan, 430071, China.
Liping Wang *Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, No.169 Donghu Road, Wuchang District, Wuhan, 430071, China.
Lili JiDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, No.169 Donghu Road, Wuchang District, Wuhan, 430071, China.
Dan HeDepartment of Clinical Pathology, Houjie Hospital of Dongguan, The Affiliated Houjie Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, No.21 Hetian Road, Houjie Town, Dongguan, 523000, China.
Lihua ZengDepartment of Clinical Pathology, Houjie Hospital of Dongguan, The Affiliated Houjie Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, No.21 Hetian Road, Houjie Town, Dongguan, 523000, China.
Guangzheng ZhuoDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, No.169 Donghu Road, Wuchang District, Wuhan, 430071, China.
Qian ZhangDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, No.169 Donghu Road, Wuchang District, Wuhan, 430071, China.
Dujuan WangDepartment of Clinical Pathology, Houjie Hospital of Dongguan, The Affiliated Houjie Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, No.21 Hetian Road, Houjie Town, Dongguan, 523000, China. dujuan1204@163.com.
Yunbao PanDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, No.169 Donghu Road, Wuchang District, Wuhan, 430071, China. panyunbao@outlook.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6311-2945
Wuhan University · CNGuangdong Medical College · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

To gain deeper insights into the microenvironment of breast cancer, we utilized GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiling (DSP) technology to analyze transcripts from 107 regions of interest in 65 untreated breast cancer tissue samples. Our study revealed spatial heterogeneity in the expression of marker genes in tumor cell enriched, immune cell enriched, and normal epithelial areas. We evaluated a total of 55 prognostic markers in tumor cell enriched regions and 15 in immune cell enriched regions, identifying that tumor cell enriched regions had higher levels of follicular helper T cells, resting dendritic cells, and plasma cells than immune cell enriched regions, while the levels of resting CD4 memory in T cells and regulatory (Treg) T cells were lower. Additionally, we analyzed the heterogeneity of HLA gene families, immunological checkpoints, and metabolic genes in these areas. Through univariate Cox analysis, we identified 5 prognosis-related metabolic genes. Furthermore, we conducted immunostaining experiments, including EMILIN2, SURF4, and LYPLA1, to verify our findings. Our investigation into the spatial heterogeneity of the breast cancer tumor environment has led to the discovery of specific diagnostic and prognostic markers in breast cancer.

Indexed as

Mammary Neoplasms, AnimalTumor MicroenvironmentAnimalsPlasma CellsPrognosisResearch DesignBreast cancerDigital spatial profilingImmune infiltrationImmunological checkpointsMetabolic markerTumor microenvironment

Identifiers

PMID37644433
PMCPMC10463390
OpenAlexW4386251973

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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.