Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42185494›Full record

ArticleCommunications biology2026

ICIsAtlas reveals a suppressive NK cell niche in pan-cancer immunotherapy profiles.

Yumo Xie, Jinxin Lin, Haotian Liu, Ying Xiong, Junyi Han, Ziying Huang, Jingrong Weng, Zixiao Wan, Peisi Li, Puning Wang and 7 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Communications biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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

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

17 authors.

Yumo Xie *Department of General Surgery (Colorectal Surgery), The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.ORCID 0000-0002-8716-2840
Jinxin Lin *Department of General Surgery (Colorectal Surgery), The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Haotian Liu *Department of General Surgery (Colorectal Surgery), The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Ying XiongDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Junyi HanDepartment of General Surgery (Colorectal Surgery), The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Ziying HuangZhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Jingrong WengDepartment of General Surgery (Colorectal Surgery), The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Zixiao WanGuangdong Institute of Gastroenterology, Guangzhou, China.
Peisi LiGuangdong Institute of Gastroenterology, Guangzhou, China.
Puning WangDepartment of General Surgery (Colorectal Surgery), The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Xiaoxia LiuGuangdong Institute of Gastroenterology, Guangzhou, China.ORCID 0000-0002-3260-2343
Linping WuGuangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.ORCID 0000-0001-7579-2987
Qian CaiDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck, Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Meijin HuangDepartment of General Surgery (Colorectal Surgery), The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Yanxin LuoDepartment of General Surgery (Colorectal Surgery), The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. luoyx25@mail.sysu.edu.cn.ORCID 0000-0002-5200-3997
Xiaolin WangGuangdong Institute of Gastroenterology, Guangzhou, China. wangxlin3@mail.sysu.edu.cn.ORCID 0000-0002-3911-6911
Huichuan YuGuangdong Institute of Gastroenterology, Guangzhou, China. yuhch5@mail.sysu.edu.cn.ORCID 0000-0001-8357-1615

Funding

Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Project 2025A04J4447Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Project 2025A04J5297National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 82272965, 82473456National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 82372715Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (Guangdong Natural Science Foundation) 2025A1515011921, 2024A1515030054
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have reshaped the treatment in multiple tumors. However, a substantial proportion of patients exhibit limited responses. The lack of harmonized, large-scale pan-cancer ICI datasets coupled with accessible analysis tools hinders the systematic discovery of response biomarkers and resistance mechanisms. Therefore, we developed a comprehensive resource named ICIsAtlas, which encompassed curated transcriptomic and clinical data from 1,268 ICI-treated patients across eight tumor types, with an accompanying R package implementing a complete workflow for deconvolution and biomarker evaluation. Applying the ICIsAtlas framework, a systematic pan-cancer analysis was performed. We identified the universal signatures that were specific for ICI response, including cooperative interactions among favorable immune cells. In addition, we discovered a competitive cell community and SERPING1 + VEGFA+ Natural Killer (NK) cell-mediated immunosuppressive niche in non-responders, which were further validated with single-cell and multiplex immunohistochemistry data. The ICIsAtlas resource and R package represent a powerful, publicly available platform for hypothesis generation and biomarker discovery, which could be used to develop the next-generation biomarkers and therapeutic targets to improve tumor immunotherapy.

Indexed as

Immune Checkpoint InhibitorsImmunotherapyKiller Cells, NaturalNeoplasmsBiomarkers, TumorHumansTranscriptomeTumor MicroenvironmentBiomarkers, TumorImmune Checkpoint Inhibitors

Identifiers

PMID42185494
PMCPMC13483866

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.