ReviewJournal of inflammation research2026
Research Progress and Future Directions in Immune Cell Crosstalk in the Esophageal Cancer: A Bibliometric Analysis.
Review in Journal of inflammation 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
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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
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: The complexity of immune cell crosstalk plays a key role in immunotherapy resistance for esophageal cancer, while systematically bibliometric analysis in this field to describe knowledge structure, hotspots and identify future research trends remains lacking. Methods: We retrieved publications on immune cell crosstalk in esophageal cancer from the Web of Science Core Collection, covering 2007 to 2025. A total of 510 articles and reviews were analyzed with CiteSpace and VOSviewer to assess publication trends, collaborative networks, keyword co‑occurrence, citation bursts, and research hotspots. Results: Research output has grown sharply since 2020. China, the United States, and Japan are the top three countries by productivity. Keyword analysis showed a progression from basic mechanisms such as apoptosis and the NF-κB pathway toward immunotherapy combinations, tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). Crosstalk networks involving T cells and macrophages are now relatively well understood, whereas interactions between regulatory T cells (Tregs) and natural killer cells (NK cells) remain poorly defined. In addition, most studies have focused on chemo-immunotherapy, leaving the cellular crosstalk under radiotherapy-based treatments largely unstudied. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that future research may benefit from prioritizing the study of Tregs and NK cells crosstalk in patients receiving radiotherapy-based treatments, and from examining their interactions with other cells, particularly TAMs and CAFs.
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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.