Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39779210›Full record

GuidelineJournal for immunotherapy of cancer2025

Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer: updates and best practices for multiplex immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunofluorescence (IF) image analysis and data sharing.

Janis M Taube, Joel C Sunshine, Michael Angelo, Guray Akturk, Margaret Eminizer, Logan L Engle, Cláudia S Ferreira, Sacha Gnjatic, Benjamin Green, Shirley Greenbaum and 21 more

Abstract readPractice Guideline
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Guideline in Journal for immunotherapy of cancer, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
18citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

18 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
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  11. Biomarker-Driven Treatments for Ovarian Cancer: Moving Beyond HRD?International journal of women's health · 2026
    Review
  12. Article
  13. Journal for immunotherapy of cancer · 2025
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
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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

31 authors.

Janis M Taube *Mark Foundation Center for Advanced Genomics and Imaging, Johns Hopkins University SOM, Baltimore, Maryland, USA jtaube1@jhmi.edu.
Joel C Sunshine *Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute of Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University SOM, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Michael AngeloDepartment of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, USA.
Guray AkturkMerck & Co, Rahway, New Jersey, USA.
Margaret EminizerJohns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Logan L EngleBloomberg~Kimmel Institute of Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University SOM, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6375-9060
Cláudia S FerreiraPharma Research and Early Development (pRED), Roche Innovation Center Munich, Penzberg, Germany.
Sacha GnjaticIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Institute, New York, New York, USA.
Benjamin GreenBloomberg~Kimmel Institute of Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University SOM, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Shirley GreenbaumDepartment of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, USA.
Noah F GreenwaldDepartment of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, USA.
Cyrus V HedvatDepartment of Pathology, Molecular and Cell-based Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
Travis J HollmannDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA.
Daniel Jiménez-SánchezBloomberg~Kimmel Institute of Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University SOM, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Konstanty KorskiDepartment of Personalized Healthcare, Data, Analytics and Imaging Group, F Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Basel, Switzerland.
Ana LakoDana Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Edwin R ParraDepartment of Translational Molecular Pathology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
Marlon C RebelattoAstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA.
David L RimmDepartment of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5820-4397
Scott J RodigDana Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Jamie Rodriguez-CanalesDaiichi Dankyo, Basking Ridge, New Jersey, USA.
Jeffrey S RoskesBloomberg~Kimmel Institute of Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University SOM, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Kurt A SchalperDepartment of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5692-4833
Emanuel SchenckAstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA.
Keith E SteeleSR Pathology LLC, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA.
Michael J SuraceAstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA.
Alexander S SzalayMark Foundation Center for Advanced Genomics and Imaging, Johns Hopkins University SOM, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Michael T TetzlaffDepartments of Pathology and Dermatology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
Ignacio I WistubaDepartment of Translational Molecular Pathology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
Jennifer H YearleyMerck & Co, Rahway, New Jersey, USA.
Carlo B BifulcoProvidence Portland Medical Center, Portland, Oregon, USA.

Funding

X-RAY CRYSTALLOGRAPHYP30CA008748 · NCI · SLOAN-KETTERING INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RES · PI SELWYN M VICKERS · 1985 to 2026
$347.4M
Yale Clinical and Translational Science Award (U Component)UL1TR001863 · NCATS · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI John H. Krystal, LUCILA OHNO-MACHADO · 2016 to 2026
$102.9M
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR001863NCI NIH HHS P30 CA008748
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesMultiplex immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence (mIHC/IF) are emerging technologies that can be used to help define complex immunophenotypes in tissue, quantify immune cell subsets, and assess the spatial arrangement of marker expression. mIHC/IF assays require concerted efforts to optimize and validate the multiplex staining protocols prior to their application on slides. The best practice guidelines for staining and validation of mIHC/IF assays across platforms were previously published by this task force. The current effort represents a complementary manuscript for mIHC/IF analysis focused on the associated image analysis and data management.

methodsThe Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer convened a task force of pathologists and laboratory leaders from academic centers as well as experts from pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies to develop best practice guidelines for the quantitative image analysis of mIHC/IF output and data management considerations.

resultsBest-practice approaches for image acquisition, color deconvolution and spectral unmixing, tissue and cell segmentation, phenotyping, and algorithm verification are reviewed. Additional quality control (QC) measures such as batch-to-batch correction and QC for assembled images are also discussed. Recommendations for sharing raw outputs, processed results, key analysis programs and source code, and representative photomicrographs from mIHC/IF assays are included. Lastly, multi-institutional harmonization efforts are described.

conclusionsmIHC/IF technologies are maturing and are routinely included in research studies and moving towards clinical use. Guidelines for how to perform and standardize image analysis on mIHC/IF-stained slides will likely contribute to more comparable results across laboratories and pave the way for clinical implementation. A checklist encompassing these two-part guidelines for the generation of robust data from quantitative mIHC/IF assays will be provided in a third publication from this task force. While the current effort is mainly focused on best practices for characterizing the tumor microenvironment, these principles are broadly applicable to any mIHC/IF assay and associated image analysis.

Indexed as

ImmunohistochemistryNeoplasmsFluorescent Antibody TechniqueHumansImage Processing, Computer-AssistedImmunotherapyEducationImmunotherapyPathologyTumor microenvironment - TME

Identifiers

PMID39779210
PMCPMC11749220

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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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.