Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42620767›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in oncology2026

STARD3NL as a prognostic marker related to an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Di Li, Ziyu Liu, Li Xie, Rui Li, Guocui Yang, Suyun Li, Xiaohan Qin, Jinping Lin

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Article in Frontiers in oncology, 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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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Di LiNew World Institute of Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China.
Ziyu LiuDiscipline Construction Department, National Engineering Research Center for Biochip at Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
Li XieDiscipline Construction Department, National Engineering Research Center for Biochip at Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
Rui LiDiscipline Construction Department, National Engineering Research Center for Biochip at Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
Guocui YangDiscipline Construction Department, National Engineering Research Center for Biochip at Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
Suyun LiDiscipline Construction Department, National Engineering Research Center for Biochip at Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
Xiaohan QinDiscipline Construction Department, National Engineering Research Center for Biochip at Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
Jinping LinNew World Institute of Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Changes in the tumor microenvironment (TME) are closely involved in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development, and lipid metabolic disorders may take part in this process. STARD3NL is known to be related to cholesterol trafficking and lipid homeostasis. However, little is known about whether STARD3NL is linked to immune features of the HCC microenvironment. Methods: We first explored STARD3NL expression and its prognostic relevance in HCC using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). To verify the bioinformatic findings, HCC tissue microarrays (TMAs) were analyzed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) for STARD3NL localization and survival evaluation. Multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC), combined with digital image analysis, was further used to characterize immune cell infiltration. Clinicopathological differences between tumors with high and low STARD3NL expression were also examined. In addition, spatial distance analysis was performed to assess how immune cells were arranged in STARD3NL-high regions. Results: TCGA-based analysis and mIHC validation both showed higher STARD3NL expression in HCC tissues. Patients with increased STARD3NL expression had poorer survival (p = 0.029), and multivariable analysis supported STARD3NL as an independent risk factor. STARD3NL-high tumors showed increased proportions of CD68+ macrophages and FOXP3+ T cells (p < 0.005). Spatial analysis further indicated that Tregs were more frequently located near macrophages (p = 0.001), with a shorter mean macrophage-Treg distance (p = 0.027). This macrophage-Treg proximity was associated with worse prognosis (p = 0.030). Conclusion: High STARD3NL expression is significantly associated with immune-suppressive features and unfavorable outcomes in HCC. These findings indicate that STARD3NL may have value as a prognostic biomarker associated with an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.

Indexed as

hepatocellular carcinomamultiplex immunohistochemistryprognostic biomarkerSTARD3NLtumor microenvironment

Identifiers

PMID42620767
PMCPMC13485826

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