ArticleFrontiers in oncology2025
Exploring the interplay between EBV and autophagy-related gene expression patterns in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
Article in Frontiers in oncology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction/Aim: While components of the autophagy pathway have been linked to cancer prognosis, their relationship with clinical outcomes remains unclear. This study investigates the expression levels of autophagy-related genes (ATGs) at both mRNA and protein levels in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and their association with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, clinicopathological characteristics, and clinical outcomes. Material and Methods: Thirty-five formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue specimens from NPC patients and five non-cancerous nasopharyngeal mucosa control samples were analyzed. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to assess the mRNA levels of nine ATGs, while protein expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Results: The results showed that ATG3, ATG4D, ATG4C, ATG4A, ATG2B, and ATG5 expression were significantly higher in EBV-positive NPC, suggesting a notable role of EBV in modulating these genes. Expression of ATG3 and ATG4C proteins was significantly more frequent in EBV-positive NPC patients compared to EBV-negative patients, with a strong correlation between expression of ATG3 or ATG4C and EBV positivity (P = 0.002 for both proteins). Elevated ATG4B and ATG4D expression was significantly associated with reduced distant metastasis in NPC patients (P = 0.019) and within the EBV-positive subgroup (P = 0.014). Reduced ATG4D mRNA levels were also correlated with higher metastasis rates and shorter distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), highlighting a potential association of ATG4D with DMFS. Conclusions: Overall, these findings emphasize the importance of assessing autophagy-related gene expression as a valuable tool for predicting clinical outcomes in NPC and underscore the need for further research to validate these results and explore therapeutic implications.
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.