Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40806656›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of molecular sciences2025

Plasma Lysophosphatidylcholine Levels Correlate with Prognosis and Immunotherapy Response in Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Tomoyuki Iwasaki, Hidekazu Shirota, Eiji Hishinuma, Shinpei Kawaoka, Naomi Matsukawa, Yuki Kasahara, Kota Ouchi, Hiroo Imai, Ken Saijo, Keigo Komine and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of molecular sciences, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
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

14 authors.

Tomoyuki IwasakiDepartment of Medical Oncology, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
Hidekazu ShirotaDepartment of Medical Oncology, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.ORCID 0000-0001-9154-9004
Eiji HishinumaAdvanced Research Center for Innovations in Next-Generation Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8573, Japan.
Shinpei KawaokaDepartment of Integrative Bioanalytics, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.ORCID 0000-0003-4064-6781
Naomi MatsukawaAdvanced Research Center for Innovations in Next-Generation Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8573, Japan.
Yuki KasaharaDepartment of Medical Oncology, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
Kota OuchiDepartment of Medical Oncology, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-5572-1337
Hiroo ImaiDepartment of Medical Oncology, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
Ken SaijoDepartment of Medical Oncology, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.ORCID 0000-0003-0179-3789
Keigo KomineDepartment of Medical Oncology, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
Masanobu TakahashiDepartment of Medical Oncology, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
Chikashi IshiokaDepartment of Medical Oncology, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-3023-1227
Seizo KoshibaAdvanced Research Center for Innovations in Next-Generation Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8573, Japan.
Hisato KawakamiDepartment of Medical Oncology, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.

Funding

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) KAKENHI 22K07183
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cancer is a systemic disease rather than a localized pathology and is characterized by widespread effects, including whole-body exhaustion and chronic inflammation. A thorough understanding of cancer pathophysiology requires a systemic approach that accounts for the complex interactions between cancer cells and host tissues. To explore these dynamics, we employed a comprehensive metabolomic analysis of plasma samples from patients with either esophageal or head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Plasma samples from 149 patients were metabolically profiled and correlated with clinical data. Among the metabolites identified, lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) emerged as the sole biomarker strongly correlated with prognosis. A significant reduction in plasma LPC levels was linked to poorer overall survival. Plasma LPC levels demonstrated minimal correlation with patient-specific factors, such as tumor size and general condition, but showed significant association with the response to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. Proteomic and cytokine analyses revealed that low plasma LPC levels reflected systemic chronic inflammation, characterized by high levels of inflammatory proteins, the cytokines interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α, and coagulation-related proteins. These findings indicate that plasma LPC levels may be used as reliable biomarkers for predicting prognosis and evaluating the efficacy of immunotherapy in patients with SCC.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, Squamous CellEsophageal NeoplasmsImmunotherapyLysophosphatidylcholinesSquamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and NeckAgedBiomarkers, TumorCytokinesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrognosisBiomarkers, TumorCytokinesLysophosphatidylcholinescancer inflammationimmune checkpoint inhibitormetabolomeproteomesquamous cell carcinoma

Identifiers

PMID40806656
PMCPMC12347404

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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.