ArticlePloS one2025
Serum zinc as a biomarker to predict the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancers.
Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Modulation of the PD-1/PD-L1 axis and tumor immunity by metals and metalloids: mechanistic insights and human health implications.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Pre-treatment endocrine-nutritional signatures predict clinical benefit from PD-1/PD-L1 blockade in hematologic malignancies.Frontiers in nutrition · 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
15 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe aim of this study was to investigate whether serum zinc levels correlate with the response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and whether they can be used as a useful prognostic biomarker in patients with advanced or metastatic cancer.
methodsWe divided 98 patients with advanced or metastatic lung, esophageal, gastric, and colorectal cancer into two groups based on enrollment date: the training group (n = 68) and the validation group (n = 30). And these patients were from Shandong Provincial Hospital and had received immunotherapy. We then used the solid tumor response Evaluation Criteria (RECIST v1.1) to determine whether the patient's condition was evaluated for clinical benefit response (CBR) or non-clinical benefit (NCB). Subsequently, serum zinc levels were assessed using ICP-MS.
resultsWe have identified for the first time that elevated levels of serum zinc (>14.2μg/L) in cancer patients undergoing immunotherapy can serve as a novel biomarker for improved overall survival (20.0m vs 10.0m; p < 0.0001), as determined by continuous serum zinc data using ROC curve analysis (sensitivity: 100.00%, specificity: 41.86%, p = 0.0009) in both CBR (n = 43) and NCB patients (n = 25) within the training group. Bioinformatics analysis has revealed that serum zinc may modulate cellular DNA replication through the MAPK and NF-kB pathways, with proteomic analysis confirming enrichment of these pathways based on KEGG and GO analyses. Consequently, a nomogram incorporating multiple clinical and independent factors has been developed to provide enhanced predictive capability.
conclusionsSerum zinc levels are positively associated with the effectiveness of ICIs in patients with advanced or metastatic cancer, potentially through their modulation of NF-κB and MAPK pathways. These findings highlight serum zinc as a valuable biomarker for predicting responses to ICI treatment.
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.