ArticleNature cancer2026
Intratumoral bacteria are immunosuppressive and promote immunotherapy resistance in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Article in Nature cancer, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03144778 (Checkpoint Inhibitors Assessment in Oropharynx Carcinoma), which is not on this map. Cited by 18 papers.
What it found
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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.
Checkpoint Inhibitors Assessment in Oropharynx Carcinoma (CIAO)
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed.
- Decoding the cancer microbiome: multi-omics, AI, and translational opportunities.Genome biology · 2026Review
- Leveraging Microphysiological Systems to Facilitate Neutrophil-Based Cancer Immunotherapy.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Spatial analysis of head and neck cancer identifies two ecosystems with distinct modes of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.Nature genetics · 2026Article
- Multifeature sequencing-based liquid biopsy for cancer diagnosis and monitoring.Genome medicine · 2026Review
- Bacterial-based cancer therapy: mechanisms and therapeutic advances.Molecular biomedicine · 2026Review
- Cancer stem cells and drug resistance in cancer: molecular mechanisms and therapeutic targets.Molecular biomedicine · 2026Review
- Microbiota in the Tumor Metastatic Cascade: Emerging Evidence Across Invasion, Circulation, and Colonization.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Review
- Spatial Heterogeneity of Intratumoral Microbiota and Its Roles in Tumor-Microbiota Interactions and Therapeutic Implications.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Sex-based immune differences influence tumor progression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.Oral oncology · 2026Article
- Precision immunotherapy for head and neck cancer: therapeutic combinations, biomarker strategies, and translational challenges.Molecular cancer · 2026Review
- Article
- Modeling Microbiome Modulation of Tumor Metabolic Networks to Predict Synergistic Therapies.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Perioperative immunotherapy in resectable HNSCC: biological rationale to practical multidisciplinary implementation.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- Intratumoral microbiome: a key regulator and novel therapeutic target for chemoresistance in pancreatic cancer.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Review
- Global research trends and emerging frontiers of intratumoral microbiota in cancer immunotherapy: a bibliometric and visualization analysis.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Bacteria-related signals in brain metastases: evidence boundaries, tumor-microenvironment remodeling, and translational prospects.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Review
- Myeloid-derived suppressor cells in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma: an underexplored immunosuppressive axis and strategic target for overcoming checkpoint inhibitor resistance.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
23 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Despite the promise of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), mediators of response are poorly understood. To address this, here we analyzed oropharyngeal HNSCCs treated with neoadjuvant durvalumab (anti-PDL1) alone or in combination with tremelimumab (anti-CTLA4) from the CIAO clinical trial ( NCT03144778 ). We found that only the total abundance of intratumoral bacteria predicted ICB response, which was validated in multiple independent cohorts. High intratumoral bacteria abundance was associated with an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, characterized by an accumulation of neutrophils coupled with depletion of T cells and other adaptive immune cells. Experimental elevation or reduction in intratumoral bacteria abundance in orthotopic models of HNSCC in female mice recapitulated immunological associations observed in participant tumors. Increasing intratumoral bacteria abundance was sufficient to induce resistance to anti-PDL1 ICB, irrespective of bacterial species tested. Together, these findings demonstrate that high intratumoral bacteria abundance is a key suppressor of antitumor immunity and promotes immunotherapy resistance.
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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.