Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41999752›Full record

ArticleCell reports. Medicine2026

Pan-cancer analysis of spatial transcriptomics reveals heterogeneous tumor spatial microenvironment.

Jiarong Li, Ping Lin, Heqi Wang, Zhixuan Tang, Xi Yan, Xufeng Chen, Jiao Yuan, Wanhong Chen, Hong Li

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Cell reports. Medicine, 2026. 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

9 authors.

Jiarong LiShanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Ping LinShanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Heqi WangShanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Zhixuan TangShanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Xi YanShanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Xufeng ChenShanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Jiao YuanShanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Wanhong ChenShanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Hong LiShanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Electronic address: lihong01@sinh.ac.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Tumors are complex systems comprising diverse cell types that form the tumor spatial microenvironment (TSME). We present a pan-cancer spatial transcriptomic analysis of 373 samples across 12 cancer types and identify 56 local cellular programs (LCPs) and 13 recurrent niches. Ligand-receptor analysis reveals niche-shared and niche-specific interactions that drive spatial organization. Notably, gene expression in tumor cells and macrophages depends heavily on their specific location. Furthermore, niches associate significantly with clinical outcomes: macrophages colocalized with tumor cells (Niche_4) correlate with poor prognosis and immunotherapy resistance, while those colocalized with immune cells (Niche_11) predict better survival and treatment response. This systematic dissection of the TSME provides deeper insights into cellular communication and the structural influences governing complex tumor ecosystems.

Indexed as

NeoplasmsTranscriptomeTumor MicroenvironmentGene Expression ProfilingGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansMacrophagesSpatial Transcriptomicsclinical implicationLR interactionpan-cancerspatial transcriptomicstumor spatial microenvironment

Identifiers

PMID41999752
PMCPMC13198256

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.