Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41756725›Full record

ArticleResearch (Washington, D.C.)2026

Repurposed Acarbose Targets Nidogen-1 to Remodel the Tumor Stroma and Suppress Portal Vein Tumor Thrombus in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Tao Han, Lujun Chen, Ning Liu, Ying Chen Han, Zhi Zhu, Shuyi Wang, Haoran Song, Ziming Gao, Lin Su, Qilin Hu and 16 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Research (Washington, D.C.), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
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

26 authors.

Tao HanDepartment of Medical Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3814-8492
Lujun ChenLaboratory of Gastrointestinal Onco-Pathology, Cancer Institute and General Surgery Institute, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Ning LiuDepartment of Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Ying Chen HanDepartment of Medical Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Zhi ZhuDepartment of Surgical Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Shuyi WangDepartment of Medical Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Haoran SongDepartment of Medical Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Ziming GaoDepartment of Surgical Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Lin SuShanghai Key Laboratory of Health Identification and Assessment, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Qilin HuDepartment of Medical Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Linda HammerichDepartment of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Campus Charité Mitte and Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Timothy M PawlikDepartment of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA.
Yuhan ZhangShenzhen Engineering Center for Translational Medicine of Precision Cancer Immunodiagnosis and Therapy, YuceBio Technology Co., Ltd, Shenzhen, China.
Masatoshi KudoDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Kindai University Faculty of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
Hao LiDepartment of Interventional Radiology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Lei MaDepartment of Medical Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Giorgio ValabregaDepartment of Oncology, University of Turin, Medical Oncology, Ordine Mauriziano Hospital, Turin, Italy.
Guang WangDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Zhengqiang YangDepartment of Interventional Therapy, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Qiuhua LuoDepartment of Pharmacy, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Donatella MarinoDepartment of Oncology, University of Turin, Medical Oncology, Ordine Mauriziano Hospital, Turin, Italy.
Zihang XuShanghai Key Laboratory of Health Identification and Assessment, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Meng NiuDepartment of Interventional Radiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Tingsong ChenDepartment of Interventional Oncology, Seventh People's Hospital of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Heming LiDepartment of Medical Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5702-0147
Kai LiDepartment of Surgical Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0004-7648-8193

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) is among the most lethal complications of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), yet its molecular mechanisms and immune features remain poorly characterized. To address this gap, we performed a comprehensive multi-omics analysis of 99 specimens from 47 patients, integrating nCounter profiling, single-cell RNA sequencing, digital spatial profiling, and proteomics to construct the first spatial map of the PVTT microenvironment. These analyses revealed marked intratumoral heterogeneity and enrichment of myofibroblast-like cancer-associated fibroblasts (myCAFs) arising through a macrophage-to-myofibroblast transition. Nidogen-1 (NID1) was identified as a stromal driver of immune barriers, highly expressed in PVTT cores and associated with impaired antitumor immunity. Guided by these mechanistic insights, we repurposed acarbose, a Food and Drug Administration-approved drug, to inhibit the NID1 axis. Functional assays demonstrated that acarbose disrupted myCAF-mediated immune barriers, suppressed PVTT progression, and synergized with anti-programmed death-1 (anti-PD-1) therapy in preclinical models. Furthermore, analysis of an independent clinical cohort of 810 HCC patients revealed a substantially lower incidence of PVTT among those receiving acarbose, underscoring its translational potential. Collectively, these findings establish the immune-stromal landscape of PVTT, uncover NID1-driven stromal remodeling as a mechanism of immune evasion, and highlight drug repurposing as an immediately actionable strategy to improve outcomes in HCC with PVTT.

Identifiers

PMID41756725
PMCPMC12932938

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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.