Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42342408›Full record

ArticleJournal for immunotherapy of cancer2026

Spatial immune atlas of breast cancer brain metastasis reveals CD163

Jiale Zhu, Junjie Ye, Yulin Ma, Zhirong Lin, Yupeng Wen, Jianpeng Sheng, Mei Yang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal for immunotherapy of cancer, 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

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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

7 authors.

Jiale Zhu *Department of Breast Surgery, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Junjie Ye *Department of Breast Surgery, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Yulin MaDepartment of Breast Surgery, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Zhirong LinDepartment of Breast Surgery, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Yupeng WenDepartment of Breast Surgery, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Jianpeng ShengChinese Institutes for Medical Research, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3262-2587
Mei YangDepartment of Breast Surgery, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China yangmei286@163.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBrain metastases (BrM) remain a major cause of mortality in breast cancer (BC), yet the spatial organization and molecular circuitry of the metastatic immune microenvironment are poorly defined.

methodsTo address this gap, we integrated high-plex imaging mass cytometry (IMC) performed on human primary breast tumors (n=20 regions of interests (ROIs)) and human brain-metastasis tissues (n=40 ROIs) with publicly available datasets, including single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) from BC (n=10) and BrM (n=12) and spatial transcriptomic (ST) data from BC (n=7) and BrM (n=1), enabling single-cell resolution of tissue architecture, functional states, and intercellular signaling.

resultsIMC resolved nine major cell classes and diverse epithelial, myeloid, and T-cell subtypes, and revealed a striking shift in macrophage polarization: CD163

conclusionsTogether, these findings show a shift from permissive to suppressive immune niches, accompanied by pronounced macrophage reprogramming, as central features of BC adaptation to the brain. This spatially resolved framework provides mechanistic insight into the poor responsiveness of brain metastases to current immunotherapies and identifies defined inhibitory ligand-receptor axes as actionable targets for combination immunotherapy.

Indexed as

Antigens, CDAntigens, Differentiation, MyelomonocyticBrain NeoplasmsBreast NeoplasmsMacrophagesReceptors, Cell SurfaceTumor EscapeCD163 AntigenFemaleHumansTumor MicroenvironmentAntigens, CDAntigens, Differentiation, MyelomonocyticCD163 AntigenReceptors, Cell SurfaceBiomarkerBreast CancerMacrophageTumor microenvironment - TME

Identifiers

PMID42342408
PMCPMC13295879

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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.