Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42216340›Full record

ArticleMedicine2026

Vasoactive intestinal peptide associated 8-gene signature with prognostic and immune associations in melanoma.

Xiaogang Hong, Xiuzhen Zheng

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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

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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.

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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

2 authors.

Xiaogang HongDepartment of Ophthalmology, People's Hospital of Kaihua, Quzhou, Zhejiang, China.ORCID 0009-0001-0028-4088
Xiuzhen Zheng

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) plays a multifaceted role in cancer biology, yet its prognostic and immunological implications in melanoma remain underexplored. This study aimed to construct a VIP-related gene signature for risk stratification and to explore its potential associations with the tumor immune microenvironment and drug sensitivity in melanoma. RNA-sequencing data and clinical information were obtained from TCGA-SKCM (n = 477, training set) and GSE65904 (n = 209, validation set). A VIP-related prognostic signature (VIPsig) was developed using stepwise Cox regression and Gradient Boosting Machine algorithms. Patients were stratified into high- and low-risk groups based on the median risk score. Somatic mutations, immune infiltration, drug sensitivity, and functional enrichment were further analyzed. A nomogram integrating clinical factors was developed and validated. Single-cell RNA-seq data (GSE115978) were reanalyzed to characterize cellular expression patterns. A preliminary pan-cancer analysis indicated potential dysregulation of VIP pathway genes. In melanoma, we identified an 8-gene signature (CD28, CD80, CD86, CTLA4, FAS, IFNG, IL10, and IL12A) associated with survival. In the training set, high-risk patients exhibited significantly worse overall survival (OS) compared to low-risk patients (HR = 2.96, 95% CI: 2.24-3.92, P < .001). This was validated in the GSE65904 cohort (HR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.26-2.77, P = .002). The VIPsig demonstrated discriminative ability with 1-, 3-, and 5-year AUCs of 0.760 (95% CI: 0.675-0.845, P < .001), 0.749 (95% CI: 0.692-0.807, P < .001), and 0.770 (95% CI: 0.717-0.823, P < .001) in the training set, respectively. Functionally, the signature was significantly associated with immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoint expression. In silico drug sensitivity analysis suggested potential associations with estimated IC50 values for several agents, though these findings require experimental validation. A nomogram integrating VIPsig with clinicopathological factors showed improved net benefit in decision curve analysis. The VIP-based signature demonstrates robust prognostic value for melanoma survival and reflects the tumor immune microenvironment status. Exploratory analyses suggest potential associations with in silico drug sensitivity estimates; however, its utility for treatment response prediction remains unvalidated and warrants further investigation in prospective melanoma cohorts treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Indexed as

MelanomaVasoactive Intestinal PeptideBiomarkers, TumorGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansNomogramsPrognosisTumor MicroenvironmentBiomarkers, TumorVasoactive Intestinal Peptideimmune cell infiltrationmachine learningmelanomanomogramvasoactive intestinal peptide

Identifiers

PMID42216340
PMCPMC13225499

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.