Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41618209›Full record

ArticleBMC cancer2026

The role of CD26 in breast cancer and its pan-cancer analysis.

Runyi Tao, Bohao Liu, Shan Gao, Jingyi Zhang, Jizhao Wang, Qiuyu Gong, Xingzhuo Zhu, Yilong Zhao, Jiaqi Huang, Chenrong Zhang and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC cancer, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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.

Runyi Tao *Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, People's Republic of China.
Bohao Liu *Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, People's Republic of China.
Shan GaoDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, People's Republic of China.
Jingyi ZhangDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, People's Republic of China.
Jizhao WangDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, People's Republic of China.
Qiuyu GongDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, People's Republic of China.
Xingzhuo ZhuDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, People's Republic of China.
Yilong ZhaoDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, People's Republic of China.
Jiaqi HuangDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, People's Republic of China.
Chenrong ZhangDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, People's Republic of China.
Yixing LiDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, People's Republic of China.
Zhiyu WangDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, People's Republic of China.
Guangjian ZhangDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, People's Republic of China. michael8039@xjtu.edu.cn.

Funding

Noncommunicable Chronic Diseases-National Science and Technology Major Project 2025ZD0548503the Clinical Research Award of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, China No. XJTU1AF-CRF-2023-006The Key Research and Development Program of Shaanxi 2022ZDLSF01-04the Research of the Shaanxi Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2022-SLRH-LJ-009
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCD26 (DPP4) is shown in literature to be implicated in multiple tumors and antitumor immunity, yet its pan-cancer and context-dependent roles remain imprecisely defined. This study comprehensively characterizes the clinical relevance of CD26 and its association with invasion-related features and immunotherapy-relevant immune infiltration and response-associated biomarkers, and to validate key findings in breast cancer cells.

methodsThe integrated pan-cancer analysis of CD26 was performed using public databases, assessing its expression patterns, associations with cancer staging and prognostic value. Co-expression and protein-interaction data were used for GO/KEGG enrichment to infer potential biological pathways. Correlations between CD26 and immune cell infiltration, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), immune checkpoints, tumor mutational burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), and neoantigen load were systematically evaluated. R software and online bioinformatics tools were employed. Additionally, qPCR, western blot and other in-vitro experiments compared CD26 expression in MCF-7 breast cancer cells and MCF-10A normal breast epithelial cells, and examined the effects of pharmacologic CD26 inhibition (alogliptin) on proliferation, invasion, and MMP9 expression in vitro.

resultsCD26 exhibited broad but low tissue specificity and was significantly upregulated in multiple malignancies compared with normal tissues, particularly in highly aggressive tumors (P < 0.01). Higher CD26 expression was associated with advanced pathological stage and adverse prognosis in several tumor types (p < 0.01), including breast cancer, while exhibiting a favorable prognostic association in a subset of tumors, indicating context-dependent relationships. Functional enrichment suggested involvement of CD26-related networks in chemokine signaling and EMT-related processes. CD26 expression correlated with estimated immune infiltration in 34 of 38 tumor types, including CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and CAFs, and was associated with multiple immune checkpoints, as well as TMB, MSI and neoantigens in selected cancers. In vitro, CD26 was elevated in MCF-7 versus MCF-10A cells (p < 0.05), and alogliptin treatment reduced MCF-7 cell proliferation and invasion (p < 0.05), accompanied by decreased MMP9 expression (p < 0.05).

conclusionsThis study presents an integrative pan-cancer framework linking CD26 expression to immune infiltration, together with in vitro observations in breast cancer cells, offering a comprehensive pan-cancer and experimental characterization of CD26. CD26 might be a novel prognostic biomarker candidate and therapeutic target to counteract tumor development in highly aggressive cancer.

Indexed as

Biomarkers, TumorBreast NeoplasmsDipeptidyl Peptidase 4Cancer-Associated FibroblastsCell ProliferationFemaleGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansMCF-7 CellsPrognosisBiomarkers, TumorDipeptidyl Peptidase 4DPP4 protein, humanBreast cancerCD26Pan-cancerPrognostic biomarker

Identifiers

PMID41618209
PMCPMC12958686

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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 Socratic graph.