Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40182181›Full record

ArticlePatterns (New York, N.Y.)2025

Bi-level graph learning unveils prognosis-relevant tumor microenvironment patterns in breast multiplexed digital pathology.

Zhenzhen Wang, Cesar A Santa-Maria, Aleksander S Popel, Jeremias Sulam

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Patterns (New York, N.Y.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing 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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Zhenzhen WangDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Cesar A Santa-MariaDepartment of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Aleksander S PopelDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Jeremias SulamDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.

Funding

Predictive experiment-based multiscale models of the tumor immune microenvironment and immunotherapy in breast cancerR01CA138264 · NCI · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI POPEL, ALEKSANDER S. · 2009 to 2023
$8.1M
NCI NIH HHS R01 CA138264
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The tumor microenvironment (TME) is widely recognized for its central role in driving cancer progression and influencing prognostic outcomes. Increasing efforts have been dedicated to characterizing it, including its analysis with modern deep learning. However, identifying generalizable biomarkers has been limited by the uninterpretable nature of their predictions. We introduce a data-driven yet interpretable approach for identifying cellular patterns in the TME associated with patient prognoses. Our method relies on constructing a bi-level graph model: a cellular graph, which models the TME, and a population graph, capturing inter-patient similarities given their respective cellular graphs. We demonstrate our approach in breast cancer, showing that the identified patterns provide a risk-stratification system with new complementary information to standard clinical subtypes, and these results are validated in two independent cohorts. Our methodology could be applied to other cancer types more generally, providing insights into the spatial cellular patterns associated with patient outcomes.

Indexed as

biomarker discoverybreast cancergraph kernelgraph learninginterpretable AIprognosissingle-cellspatial analysissurvival analysistumor microenvironment

Identifiers

PMID40182181
PMCPMC11962943

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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.