Single-cell omics in tumor lymph node metastasis: mechanisms and therapeutic implications.

Xuanhao Liu, Xiaoyan Meng, Zhonglong Liu, Liren Cao, Luoman Gan, Yue He

Abstract readReview

In one paragraph

Review in Molecular cancer, 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

6 authors.

Xuanhao Liu *Department of Oral Maxillofacial & Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200011, P. R. China.

Xiaoyan Meng *Department of Oral Maxillofacial & Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200011, P. R. China.

Zhonglong Liu *Department of Oral Maxillofacial & Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200011, P. R. China.

Liren CaoDepartment of Oral Maxillofacial & Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200011, P. R. China.

Luoman GanDepartment of Oral Maxillofacial & Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200011, P. R. China.

Yue HeDepartment of Oral Maxillofacial & Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200011, P. R. China. william5218@126.com.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 82573543Original Exploration Project of Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine JYYC012

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Lymph node metastasis (LNM) represents a distinctive stage in cancer progression, exerting a profound impact on patient prognosis. Accumulating studies have unveiled that tumor-draining lymph nodes (TDLNs) play a pivotal role in immunotherapy, functioning as an armory for anti-tumor immunity. Concurrently, LNM itself accelerates systemic metastatic progression, exacerbates systemic immunosuppression, and in turn fuels tumor progression. Recent advancements in single-cell sequencing technology have furnished insights into the mechanisms of LNM at single-cell resolution, unraveling the process of LNM in tumor cells and accompanying microenvironmental alterations from the perspectives of cellular heterogeneity, intercellular communication, and cellular evolutionary trajectories. Furthermore, single-cell sequencing studies have underscored the critical role of TDLNs in immunotherapy and their corresponding adaptive modifications. This article reviews the LNM microenvironment and immunosuppressive mechanisms revealed by single-cell sequencing technology, summarizes the novel targets for LNM and the current status of LNM-related immunotherapy research, and outlines the current challenges and future development directions from both technological and research content perspectives.

Indexed as

GenomicsNeoplasmsSingle-Cell AnalysisAnimalsBiomarkers, TumorHumansImmunotherapyLymphatic MetastasisLymph NodesSingle-Cell Gene Expression AnalysisTumor MicroenvironmentBiomarkers, TumorImmunotherapyLymph node metastasisMicroenvironmentSingle-cell sequencingTumor-draining lymph node

Identifiers

PMID41629958

DOI10.1186/s12943-026-02585-x

PMCPMC12954953

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata

LicenceCC BY-NC-ND

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 Socratic graph.