Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42008212›Full record

ArticleEsophagus : official journal of the Japan Esophageal Society2026

Gut microbiota diversity in patients with ESCC: associations with esophagectomy, the tumor immune microenvironment, and nivolumab response.

Yuho Ebata, Eiji Oki, Qingjiang Hu, Hirofumi Hasuda, Tetsuro Kawazoe, Sho Nambara, Yasuo Tsuda, Tomonori Nakanoko, Koji Ando, Yasue Kimura and 10 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Esophagus : official journal of the Japan Esophageal Society, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

20 authors.

Yuho EbataDepartment of Surgery and Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1, Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan.
Eiji OkiDepartment of Surgery and Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1, Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan. oki.eiji.857@m.kyushu-u.ac.jp.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9763-9366
Qingjiang HuDepartment of Surgery, Kyushu University Beppu Hospital, Oita, Japan.
Hirofumi HasudaDepartment of Gastroenterological Surgery and Clinical Research Institute, Kyushu Medical Center, Fukuoka, Japan.
Tetsuro KawazoeDepartment of Surgery and Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1, Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan.
Sho NambaraDepartment of Surgery and Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1, Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan.
Yasuo TsudaDepartment of Surgery and Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1, Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan.
Tomonori NakanokoDepartment of Surgery and Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1, Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan.
Koji AndoDepartment of Surgery and Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1, Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan.
Yasue KimuraDepartment of Gastroenterological Surgery, National Hospital Organization Kyushu Cancer, Fukuoka, Japan.
Kentaro SawadaDepartment of Medical Oncology, Kushiro Rosai Hospital, Kushiro, Japan.
Riu YamashitaDivision of Translational Informatics, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan.
Satoshi HorasawaTranslational Research Support Section, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan.
Takao FujisawaTranslational Research Support Section, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan.
Hideaki BandoTranslational Research Support Section, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan.
Yoshiaki NakamuraTranslational Research Support Section, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan.
Takayuki YoshinoDepartment of Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan.
Haruka YokotaR&D Center, Biofermin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Hyogo, Japan.
Hiroshi OhnoR&D Center, Biofermin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Hyogo, Japan.
Tomoharu YoshizumiDepartment of Surgery and Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1, Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimEsophagectomy may alter gut microbiota, a key regulator of antitumor immunity and immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) efficacy; however, its impact in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unclear. This study evaluated the association between the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) and gut microbiota and also investigated gut microbiota composition in relation to nivolumab response in patients with ESCC.

methodsTwo cohorts were analyzed. In Cohort 1 (n = 18), fecal samples collected before and three months after esophagectomy were analyzed alongside TIME profiling, and patients were classified as hot or cold tumors based on CD8

resultsPatients with hot tumors exhibited higher microbial alpha diversity than those with cold tumors. Before esophagectomy, cold tumors showed enrichment of Streptococcus, Veillonella, Haemophilus, and Gemella, whereas hot tumors were enriched in Flavonifractor and Phascolarctobacterium; these differences disappeared postoperatively, indicating surgery-associated compositional shifts. In Cohort 2, higher alpha diversity was associated with favorable nivolumab response, while patients with Streptococcus- or Veillonella-enriched microbiota more frequently had residual tumors and poor outcomes.

conclusionGut microbiota diversity was associated with the tumor immune microenvironment and nivolumab response in patients with esophageal cancer. Esophagectomy was also associated with alterations in gut microbial composition.

Indexed as

Esophageal NeoplasmsEsophageal Squamous Cell CarcinomaEsophagectomyGastrointestinal MicrobiomeNivolumabTumor MicroenvironmentAgedAntineoplastic Agents, ImmunologicalCohort StudiesFemaleHumansImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeAntineoplastic Agents, ImmunologicalImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsNivolumab16S rRNA sequencingEsophageal squamous cell carcinomaGut microbiotaNivolumabTumor microenvironment

Identifiers

PMID42008212

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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.