Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42004035›Full record

ReviewiScience2026

Rewiring immunity: Midkine's emerging role in cancer immune escape and drug resistance.

Minakshi Saikia, Sai Prem, Vaishali Kapoor

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in iScience, 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

3 authors.

Minakshi SaikiaDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Sai PremDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Vaishali KapoorDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Immunotherapy has transformed cancer care, yet durable responses remain limited by mechanisms of resistance driven by tumors and their microenvironment. Midkine (MDK), a secreted heparin-binding growth factor, has recently emerged as a regulator of the cancer-immune interface. While MDK has long been recognized for its roles in cell survival, proliferation, and angiogenesis, new evidence highlights its ability to reprogram the tumor microenvironment by recruiting myeloid-derived suppressor cells, impairing T cell activation, and disrupting antigen presentation. MDK further reinforces immune evasion and therapeutic resistance through crosstalk with immune checkpoints, stromal components, and signaling pathways, including STAT3, PI3K/AKT, and the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Here, we summarize current knowledge of MDK's immunoregulatory functions across various cancer types and propose a conceptual framework that positions MDK as a converging node linking oncogenic signaling with immune escape. We also discuss emerging translational strategies to inhibit MDK to overcome therapy resistance and enhance patient outcomes.

Indexed as

cancerimmunology

Identifiers

PMID42004035
PMCPMC13091548

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.