Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40075112›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2025

Activin A affects colorectal cancer progression and immunomodulation in a stage dependent manner.

Mark B Wiley, Jessica Bauer, Valentina Alvarez, Zoe Kolics, Wenxuan Cheng, David N Church, David J Kerr, Rachel S Kerr, Barbara Jung

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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.

Mark B WileyDepartment of Medicine, University of Washington College of Medicine, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
Jessica BauerDepartment of Medicine, University of Washington College of Medicine, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
Valentina AlvarezDepartment of Medicine, University of Washington College of Medicine, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
Zoe KolicsDepartment of Medicine, University of Washington College of Medicine, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
Wenxuan ChengDepartment of Medicine, University of Washington College of Medicine, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
David N ChurchNuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 4BH, UK.
David J KerrRadcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 4BH, UK.
Rachel S KerrDepartment of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 4BH, UK.
Barbara JungSchool of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA. bhjung@health.ucsd.edu.

Funding

Mechanism of colon cancer metastasis: combined role of activin and TGF-beta signalingR01CA141057 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI JUNG, BARBARA H · 2010 to 2021
$3.0M
NCI NIH HHS R01 CA141057NIH HHS R01 CA141057NIHR Comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre C26642/A27963
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) continues to present with poor survival and treatment options remain limited. We have shown that increased activin A (activin) expression in the tumor microenvironment (TME) is associated with poor outcome in a cohort of stage III and IV CRC patients. Here, we hypothesized that activin promotes stage specific outcomes in CRC, enhancing metastasis and tolerance in late-stage CRC exclusively. We employed Digital Spatial Profiling (DSP) technology on a cohort of stage II and III CRC patient tissue samples obtained at the time of curative surgery to show that activin co-localization was associated with increased mitogenic signaling, proliferation, and immunosuppression in stage III, but not stage II, CRCs. Furthermore, we found strong linear correlations between markers of immunosuppression and signaling proteins in activin (+) areas, an effect that was not observed in activin (-) areas of tissue. Taken together these data suggest activin exerts pro-metastatic and immunosuppressive effects in stage III, but not stage II, CRC providing an attractive therapeutic target for advanced CRC.

Indexed as

ActivinsColorectal NeoplasmsImmunomodulationAgedCell ProliferationDisease ProgressionFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasm StagingSignal TransductionTumor Microenvironmentactivin AActivinsActivin AColorectal CancerDigital Spatial profilingMetastasisTumor microenvironment

Identifiers

PMID40075112
PMCPMC11903883

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.