Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40040869›Full record

ArticleJournal of the National Cancer Center2025

Treatments of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) and immunotherapy reshape the systemic tumor immune environment (STIE) in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Cai-Ning Zhao, Chi-Leung Chiang, Wan-Hang Keith Chiu, Sik-Kwan Kenneth Chan, Chun-Bong James Li, Wei-Wei Chen, Dan-Yang Zheng, Wen-Qi Chen, Ren Ji, Chung-Mau Lo and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the National Cancer Center, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing 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

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. The Role of CD4Cells · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
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

13 authors.

Cai-Ning ZhaoDepartment of Clinical Oncology, University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
Chi-Leung ChiangDepartment of Clinical Oncology, University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
Wan-Hang Keith ChiuDepartment of Diagnostic Radiology, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Sik-Kwan Kenneth ChanDepartment of Clinical Oncology, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Chun-Bong James LiDepartment of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Wei-Wei ChenDepartment of Clinical Oncology, University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
Dan-Yang ZhengDepartment of Clinical Oncology, University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
Wen-Qi ChenDepartment of Clinical Oncology, University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
Ren JiDepartment of Surgery, University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
Chung-Mau LoDepartment of Surgery, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Salma K JabbourDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, USA.
Chi-Yan Albert ChanDepartment of Surgery, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Feng-Ming Spring KongDepartment of Clinical Oncology, University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: The role of systemic tumor immune environment (STIE) is unclear in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to exam the cells in the STIE, their changes after transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE), stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), and immunotherapy (IO) and explore their significance in the treatment response of patients with unresectable HCC. Methods: This is a prospective biomarker study of patients with unresectable HCC. The treatment was sequential TACE, SBRT (27.5-40 Gy/5 fractions), and IO. The treatment response was assessed according to modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST) by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after 6 months of treatment. Longitudinal data of STIE cells was extracted from laboratory results of complete blood cell counts, including leukocytes, lymphocytes, neutrophils, monocytes, eosinophils, basophils, and platelets. Peripheral blood samples were collected at baseline and after TACE, SBRT, and IO for T-lymphocyte subtyping by flow cytometry. Generalized estimation equation was employed for longitudinal analyses. Results: A total of 35 patients with unresectable HCC were enrolled: 23 patients in the exploratory cohort and 12 in the validation cohort. STIE circulating cells, especially lymphocytes, were heterogenous at baseline and changed differentially after TACE, SBRT, and IO in both cohorts. SBRT caused the greatest reduction of 0.7 × 10 Conclusions: STIE cells are significant for treatment response, can be reshaped differentially after TACE, SBRT, and IO. The most significant changes of T-lymphocyte lineage are SBRT associated modulations in CD25

Indexed as

BiomarkerImmunotherapyLiver cancerRadiotherapySystemic immunity

Identifiers

PMID40040869
PMCPMC11873621

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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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 Socratic graph.