Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40646574›Full record

ArticleCancer cell international2025

Comparison of local effects and systemic T-cell responses in patients with breast cancer treated by radiofrequency ablation versus microwave ablation.

Muxin Yu, Bangjie Wang, Ying Qu, Wen Sun, Mengdi Liang, Xinrui Mao, Yunshan Jiang, Jiaming Wang, Xinyu Tang, Hong Pan and 5 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Cancer cell international, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing 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

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Ultrasound-guided microwave ablation for breast tumors: current status and future perspectives.Diagnostic and interventional radiology (Ankara, Turkey) · 2026
    Review
  2. Review
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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

15 authors.

Muxin Yu *Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, China.
Bangjie Wang *Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, China.
Ying Qu *Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, China.
Wen Sun *Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, China.
Mengdi Liang *Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, China.
Xinrui MaoDepartment of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, China.
Yunshan JiangDepartment of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, China.
Jiaming WangDepartment of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, China.
Xinyu TangDepartment of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, China.
Hong PanDepartment of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, China.
Yi ZhaoDepartment of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, China.
Hui XieDepartment of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, China.
Qiang DingDepartment of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, China.
Shui WangDepartment of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, China. shwang@njmu.edu.cn.
Wenbin ZhouDepartment of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, China. zhouwenbin@njmu.edu.cn.

Funding

China Postdoctoral Science Foundation 2023M731415National Natural Science Foundation of China 82172683National Natural Science Foundation of China 82303710Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province BK20230017
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRadiofrequency ablation (RFA) and microwave ablation (MWA) have been investigated as treatments for early-stage breast cancer. However, it is unclear which minimally invasive thermal therapy demonstrates superior local efficacy. Also, the cytolytic functions of peripheral T cells after thermal ablation in solid tumors have not been reported. MATERIALS AND

methodsIn this study, 60 patients with breast cancer were enrolled from two clinical trials conducted between March 2020 and December 2021. The local effect of thermal ablation evaluated through pathological examinations or radiological imaging was the primary outcome. The secondary outcome involved systemic T-cell responses. Peripheral blood samples were collected before and after treatments. The ablation-induced immune responses were analyzed using flow cytometry, enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA), quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and single-cell RNA sequencing.

resultsBoth RFA and MWA showed favorable local effects in the treatment of breast cancer. Compared to surgery, RFA increased peripheral CD8 + T-cell proportions but did not enhance their cytolytic functions. Conversely, MWA induced stronger cytolytic functions of peripheral T cells and upregulated memory CD4 + T cells. The distinct immune responses induced by MWA and RFA were associated with variations in antigen presentation pathways, types of antigen-presenting cells (APCs), and cytokine secretion profiles. Single-cell RNA sequencing further revealed that dendritic cells were the APCs activated by MWA, exhibiting upregulated fatty acid metabolism.

conclusionBoth thermal ablation therapies are technically feasible for early-stage breast cancer. However, MWA appears superior in enhancing the cytolytic functions of peripheral T cells compared to RFA. This study provides the first mechanistic insight into the different immune responses induced by MWA and RFA, although future clinical trials are necessary to validate these findings.

trial registrationChiCTR2000029665. Registered February 09, 2020 ( https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=48315 ) and ChiCTR2000029155. Registered January 16, 2020 ( https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=48314 ).

Indexed as

Breast cancerLocal effectMicrowave ablationRadiofrequency ablationT cell

Identifiers

PMID40646574
PMCPMC12254964

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

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.