ArticleFrontiers in immunology2026
An IHC-derived TLS-CD8-macrophage immune niche score predicts major pathological response to neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy in resectable NSCLC.
Article in Frontiers in immunology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 1 paper.
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.
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.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy improves pathological response in resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but response remains heterogeneous. PD-L1 tumor proportion score (TPS) incompletely captures spatial immune contexture. We developed and cross-center validated an immunohistochemistry (IHC)-derived equal-weight immune niche score integrating tertiary lymphoid structure (TLS) maturity, CD8-TLS proximity, CD8/FOXP3 balance, CD163/CD68 ratio, and PD-L1 TPS. Methods: This two-center retrospective cohort included 326 patients with resectable NSCLC treated with neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy. The model-development cohort included 188 patients, and an institution-level external-validation cohort within the same regional medical system included 138 patients. The primary endpoint was major pathological response (MPR). Model performance was evaluated using discrimination, calibration, decision curve analysis, and ablation analysis. Sensitivity analyses tested alternative CD8-TLS thresholds, ICI-agent subgroups, missing-data approaches, Granzyme B incorporation, and alternative weighting. Exploratory analyses assessed event-free survival (EFS), overall survival (OS), interobserver reproducibility, and asthma-related pulmonary safety. Results: Overall, 146 patients (44.8%) achieved MPR and 42 (12.9%) achieved pathological complete response. MPR tumors had higher TLS maturity, CD8+ cells within 50 μm of TLS, CD8/FOXP3 ratio, PD-L1 TPS, lower CD163/CD68 ratio, and higher immune niche score. In external validation, the score achieved an AUC of 0.732 (95% CI, 0.648-0.816), compared with 0.564 for the clinical model, 0.635 for PD-L1 alone, 0.613 for clinical + PD-L1, and 0.692 for XGBoost, with acceptable calibration. CD8-TLS proximity (OR 1.68, 95% CI 1.03-2.79), CD163/CD68 ratio (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.48-0.91), and the composite score (OR 2.72 per 1 SD, 95% CI 2.05-3.69) were independently associated with MPR. Performance was stable across sensitivity analyses. Exploratory EFS was more favorable in the high-score group. Asthma history was not independently associated with MPR but was associated with higher composite pulmonary adverse-event rates. Conclusion: This transparent IHC-derived TLS-CD8-macrophage immune niche score showed moderate cross-center validation performance for MPR prediction after neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy in resectable NSCLC, while remaining pathologically interpretable. It may complement PD-L1 TPS for response stratification, pending broader multicenter and prospective validation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.