ArticleFrontiers in immunology2025
Harnessing NKG2D CAR-T cells with radiotherapy: a novel approach for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma treatment.
Article in Frontiers in immunology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Harnessing the NKG2D immune surveillance pathway using engineered T-cells for the treatment of human disease.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2026Review
- Profiling neoadjuvant therapy response in rectal cancer using meta-analysis of publicly available transcriptomic RNA-seq datasets.Molecular oncology · 2026Article
- Immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and immunotherapy resistance of esophageal carcinoma.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Review
- Innate immunity in tumors: roles and therapeutic targets.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) represents a highly aggressive malignancy with poor prognosis and limited therapeutic advancements. While chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T-cell therapy has revolutionized cancer treatment, its application in ESCC remains poorly explored. This study pioneers the exploration of natural killer group 2 member D (NKG2D) CAR-T cells combined with radiotherapy for treating ESCC, with the goals of establishing a novel treatment strategy and achieving superior tumor control through combined immunoradiotherapy. Methods: Flow cytometry and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) were carried out to evaluate the expression of NKG2D ligands at the cell surface protein and mRNA levels. Cell-based bioluminescence assays and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were performed to measure the cytotoxicity and cytokine secretion of NKG2D CAR-T cells. A human ESCC subcutaneous xenograft model and a bilateral xenograft model were established. Luminex liquid suspension chip detection was utilized to verify the changes in cytokines and chemokines in the circulation and at tumor sites. Immunohistochemical analysis was conducted to assess the accumulation of T cells Results: NKG2D ligands are widely expressed in ESCC cell lines and can be further increased by irradiation at both the mRNA and cell surface protein levels. NKG2D CAR-T cells efficiently recognized and lysed ESCC cell lines, and irradiation enhanced the activity of NKG2D CAR-T cells targeting ESCC cells. Additionally, NKG2D CAR-T cells specifically homed to and accumulated in ESCC tumors, exerting efficient immunological activity correlated with noticeable tumor regression in a human ESCC xenograft model, with no obvious toxicity. Moreover, preconditioning with local radiotherapy accelerated the tumor shrinkage induced by NKG2D CAR-T cells, explaining by altering the tumor microenvironment (TME) and promoting the migration and infiltration of CAR-T cells into tumor sites. Conclusions: We first clarified the therapeutic efficacy of NKG2D CAR-T cells in ESCC, as well as their enhanced effect when combined with radiotherapy, which provides a novel treatment strategy for ESCC patients.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.