Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42792661›Full record

ReviewBiomedicines2026

Immunotherapy for Digestive System Cancers: Progress, Challenges, and Future Directions.

Keran Sun, Hongru Li, Hao Chi, Yuxuan Song, Yunze Niu, Jingyuan Ning, Hengrui Liu

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Biomedicines, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Keran SunKey Laboratory of Immune Mechanism and Intervention on Serious Disease in Hebei Province, Department of Immunology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, China.ORCID 0000-0001-6065-8945
Hongru LiKey Laboratory of Immune Mechanism and Intervention on Serious Disease in Hebei Province, Department of Immunology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, China.
Hao ChiJohn A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5210-0770
Yuxuan SongDepartment of Urology, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing 100044, China.ORCID 0000-0001-8326-0948
Yunze NiuBeijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, China.ORCID 0009-0006-3683-827X
Jingyuan NingKey Laboratory of Immune Mechanism and Intervention on Serious Disease in Hebei Province, Department of Immunology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, China.
Hengrui LiuDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QW, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-5369-3926

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Immune checkpoint blockade has changed the management of several digestive system cancers, but its impact is highly context dependent. This review evaluates evidence for esophageal, gastric and gastroesophageal junction, colorectal, hepatocellular, biliary tract and gallbladder, and pancreatic cancers. Randomized phase III trials have established chemoimmunotherapy or dual-checkpoint strategies in advanced esophageal cancer, biomarker- and regimen-dependent first-line therapy in gastric cancer, PD-1-based therapy for MSI-H/dMMR colorectal cancer, atezolizumab-bevacizumab and STRIDE for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma, and chemoimmunotherapy for advanced biliary tract cancer. Recent results also expand perioperative treatment: neoadjuvant checkpoint blockade produces high pathological response rates in dMMR colon cancer, adjuvant atezolizumab plus mFOLFOX6 improves disease-free survival in stage III dMMR colon cancer, and perioperative serplulimab improves event-free survival in PD-L1-positive resectable gastric cancer. These advances coexist with important negative findings. Pembrolizumab-containing therapy did not meet superiority end points in KEYNOTE-062, the initial adjuvant signal in IMbrave050 was not sustained, and unselected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma remains largely resistant to checkpoint blockade. Early vaccine, cellular, TIGIT, radiomics, spatial, and multi-omics studies remain hypothesis-generating and require external or randomized validation. Clinical interpretation should integrate evidence maturity, biomarker validity, immune-related toxicity, patient-reported outcomes, cost, access, and manufacturing demands rather than response rate alone.

Indexed as

biomarkersdigestive system cancersimmune checkpoint inhibitorsimmune-related adverse eventsimmunotherapyMSI/dMMRmulti-omicsPD-1/PD-L1

Identifiers

PMID42792661
PMCPMC13604390

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.