Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41742891›Full record

ReviewHuman vaccines & immunotherapeutics2026

Tertiary lymphoid structures guided opportunities and challenges for immunotherapy in early gastroesophageal junction cancer and low rectal cancer.

Qi Zou, Yongjian Zhang, Zhenyu Xian, Zhen Fang, Jizhun Zhang, Liang Shang, Heng Wang, Bang Hu, Zixu Chen

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics, 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

9 authors.

Qi ZouDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
Yongjian ZhangDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
Zhenyu XianDepartment of Colorectal Surgery, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Zhen FangDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
Jizhun ZhangDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
Liang ShangDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
Heng WangCollege of Medicine, Fuyang Normal University, Fuyang, Anhui, China.
Bang HuDepartment of Colorectal Surgery, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Zixu ChenDepartment of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Early-stage gastroesophageal junction cancer (GEJC) and low rectal cancer (LRC) pose a dilemma: surgery is often curative yet may cause lasting functional loss. Emerging data suggest that early tumors tend to exhibit an immune-active microenvironment with greater tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) density and maturity, whereas advanced disease is frequently marked by immunosuppressive signaling, vascular and metabolic barriers, and attenuated TLS function. This review synthesizes stage-dependent immune ecology and evaluates how TLS biology may inform immunotherapy in early GEJC and LRC. We highlight opportunities for organ preservation in selected patients and key constraints: few trials in early-stage tumor, uncertain applicability beyond MSI-H or dMMR, limited performance of current biomarkers, challenges in assessing pathologic complete response, and the need for standardized surveillance when surgery is deferred. Overall, TLS-guided selection and rational microenvironment-modulating combinations appear promising, but replacing surgery should be confined to trials with rigorous endpoints and quality-of-life evaluation.

Indexed as

Gastroesophageal junction cancerimmunotherapylow rectal cancertertiary lymphoid structurestumor microenvironment

Identifiers

PMID41742891
PMCPMC12940135

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.