ArticleClinical and experimental pediatrics2026
Pediatric patients with cancer exhibit increased neutrophil extracellular traps and reduced active deoxyribonuclease I: diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic opportunities.
Article in Clinical and experimental pediatrics, 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
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Background: Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) contribute to cancer progression; however, their value as systemic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in pediatric cancers remains unclear. Purpose: To evaluate circulating NET markers as minimally invasive diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in pediatric cancer and explore the restoration of NET degradation as a therapeutic strategy using recombinant human deoxyribonuclease I (DNaseI). Methods: In this prospective cohort study, plasma samples from 182 pediatric patients with diverse tumor types and 10 age-matched healthy controls were analyzed. Circulating NET markers, including cell-free DNA, calprotectin, neutrophil elastase, citrullinated histone H3-DNA complexes, and DNaseI activity, were quantified. NETs were assessed in tumor tissue samples using immunofluorescence. The diagnostic performance and prognostic value were evaluated using receiver operating characteristic and survival analyses, respectively. The ability of patient plasma to degrade NETs and the effects of recombinant human DNaseI supplementation were examined in vitro. Results: Plasma cell-free DNA and calprotectin levels were significantly higher in pediatric patients with cancer than in controls, particularly in high-risk patients. Cell-free DNA showed high diagnostic accuracy, whereas calprotectin and DNaseI activity discriminated between high- and low-risk patients and were associated with adverse outcomes. NETs were detected in tumor tissues with heterogeneous distribution and no consistent association with prognosis. Plasma from high-risk patients exhibited impaired NET degradation, which was restored in vitro using recombinant human DNaseI. Conclusion: Circulating NETs, especially cell-free DNA and calprotectin, show promise as noninvasive diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for pediatric cancers. Reduced DNaseI activity identified a potentially targetable mechanism, supporting further investigation of DNaseI-based therapeutic strategies for high-risk pediatric tumors.
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.