ArticleTranslational lung cancer research2026
Elevated serum neuron-specific enolase as an indicator of poor chemo-immunotherapy outcomes and reduced CD8-positive lymphocyte infiltration in small-cell lung cancer: a retrospective cohort study.
Article in Translational lung cancer research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Chemo-immunotherapy is the standard first-line treatment for extensive-disease small-cell lung cancer (ED-SCLC), but biomarkers for benefit remain limited. Serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) is a classical small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) biomarker, but its relationship with the tumor immune microenvironment remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the association of pretreatment serum NSE with clinical outcomes and intratumoral CD8-positive lymphocyte infiltration in patients with ED-SCLC. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed pathologically confirmed ED-SCLC patients who received first-line chemo-immunotherapy or chemotherapy. Pretreatment serum NSE was measured by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA). Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated by NSE status. Tumor biopsy specimens were assessed for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I expression and CD8-positive lymphocyte infiltration. Cox models, treatment-by-NSE interaction analyses, log-transformed NSE analyses, and logistic regression for CD8 infiltration were performed. Results: A serum NSE threshold of 64.1 ng/mL stratified patients into low- and high-NSE groups. In the chemo-immunotherapy cohort, high NSE remained independently associated with shorter PFS after adjustment for performance status (PS), stage group, liver metastasis, and brain metastasis [hazard ratio (HR), 3.68; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.39-9.76; P=0.009]. Treatment-by-NSE interaction was significant for PFS (HR, 4.52; 95% CI: 1.27-16.10; P=0.02). CD8-positive lymphocyte infiltration was more frequent in the low-NSE group. Low NSE was independently associated with CD8-positive lymphocyte infiltration after adjustment for HLA class I expression, PS, liver metastasis, and brain metastasis [odds ratio (OR), 11.68; 95% CI: 3.01-61.32; P=0.001]. Conclusions: Pretreatment serum NSE was associated with survival outcomes and CD8-positive lymphocyte infiltration in ED-SCLC. Serum NSE may serve as a clinically accessible prognostic marker and exploratory stratification biomarker for chemo-immunotherapy benefit, particularly for PFS.
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.