SynthesisBMC cancer2023
Prognostic value of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) in digestive system cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC cancer, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Tumor infiltrating B cells and tertiary lymphoid structures in pancreatic cancer prognosis and therapy.iScience · 2026Review
- Digital Pathology and the AI-Based Quantification of the Tumor Microenvironment in Gastrointestinal Cancer: From Tumor Budding and Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes to Tertiary Lymphoid Structures.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- FOXP3Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Review
- Comparative Analysis of Pathology Foundation Models for Automated Detection of Tertiary Lymphoid Structures in Hematoxylin-and-Eosin-Stained Digital Pathology Images.Computational and structural biotechnology journal · 2026Article
- Automated classification of tertiary lymphoid structures in colorectal cancer using TLS-PAT artificial intelligence tool.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Tumor aggression-defense index-a novel indicator to predicts recurrence and survival in stage II-III colorectal cancer.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Article
- Imaging Mass Cytometry to Decipher the Maturation of Tertiary Lymphoid Structures.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2025Article
- Article
- Melanoma-associated fibroblasts in tumor-promotion flammation and antitumor immunity: novel mechanisms and potential immunotherapeutic strategies.Human molecular genetics · 2024Review
- Deep learning on tertiary lymphoid structures in hematoxylin-eosin predicts cancer prognosis and immunotherapy response.NPJ precision oncology · 2024Article
- Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundExisting literature suggests that tertiary lymphatic structure (TLS) is associated with the progression of cancer. However, the prognostic role of TLS in digestive system cancers remains controversial. This meta-analysis aims to synthesize currently available evidence in the association between TLS and the survival of digestive system cancers.
methodsWe systematically searched three digital databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science) for articles published from database inception to December 23, 2022. Study selection criteria are based on PECO framework: P (population: patients with digestive system cancers), E (exposure: presence of TLS), C (comparator: absence of TLS), O (outcome: overall survival, OS; recurrence-free survival, RFS; disease-free survival, DFS). The Quality in Prognostic Studies (QUIPS) tool was used to assess risk of bias for included studies. The study protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023416307).
resultsA total of 25 studies with 6910 patients were included into the final meta-analysis. Random-effects models revealed that the absence of TLS was associated with compromised OS, RFS, and DFS of digestive system cancers, with pooled hazard ratios (HRs) of 1.74 (95% CI: 1.50-2.03), 1.96 (95% CI: 1.58-2.44), and 1.81 (95% CI: 1.49-2.19), respectively. Subgroup analyses disclosed a stronger TLS-survival association for pancreatic cancer, compared with other digestive system cancers.
conclusionTLS may be of prognostic significance for digestive system cancers. More original studies are needed to further corroborate this finding.
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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.