Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41665993›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2026

A systems approach identifies MERTK as a therapeutic vulnerability in ZFTA-RELA-driven ependymomas.

Marina Chan, Songli Zhu, Zachary R Russell, Sonali Arora, Aleena K S Arakaki, Joel M Vaz, Deby Kumasaka, Frank Szulzewsky, Antony Michealraj, Eric C Holland and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing 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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. 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

11 authors.

Marina ChanHuman Biology Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA 98109.
Songli ZhuHuman Biology Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA 98109.ORCID 0000-0001-8560-5444
Zachary R RussellHuman Biology Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA 98109.
Sonali AroraHuman Biology Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA 98109.
Aleena K S ArakakiHuman Biology Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA 98109.
Joel M VazHuman Biology Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA 98109.ORCID 0009-0008-7177-3525
Deby KumasakaHuman Biology Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA 98109.
Frank SzulzewskyHuman Biology Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA 98109.ORCID 0000-0001-5710-9590
Antony MichealrajDepartment of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.
Eric C HollandHuman Biology Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA 98109.ORCID 0000-0002-3792-7120
Taranjit S GujralHuman Biology Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA 98109.ORCID 0000-0002-4453-3031

Funding

The role and mechanism of alternative RNA splice variants and gene fusions as drivers of cancerR35CA253119 · NCI · FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER · PI Eric C. Holland · 2021 to 2026
$6.5M
Ben and Catherine Ivy Foundation (BCIF) NANCI NIH HHS R35 CA253119
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Ependymomas (EPN) are rare central nervous system tumors that account for approximately 10% of intracranial tumors in children and 4% in adults. Despite their clinical and molecular heterogeneity, spanning supratentorial, posterior fossa, and spinal subtypes, treatment remains limited to surgery and radiotherapy, with chemotherapy offering minimal benefit. Here, we performed transcriptomic analysis of 370 human ependymoma samples and identified two distinct molecular subgroups: EPN-E1 and EPN-E2. The EPN-E1 cluster is enriched for supratentorial tumors harboring ZFTA-RELA fusions (ZFTA-RELA

Indexed as

Brain Neoplasmsc-Mer Tyrosine KinaseEpendymomaOncogene Proteins, FusionAnimalsCell Line, TumorGene Expression ProfilingGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansMiceProtein Kinase InhibitorsSignal Transductionc-Mer Tyrosine KinaseMERTK protein, humanOncogene Proteins, FusionProtein Kinase InhibitorsependymomasKinome regularizationMERTKtargeted therapyZFTA-RELA fusion

Identifiers

PMID41665993
PMCPMC12912970

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.