Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42794956›Full record

ReviewCancers2026

The Lactate-Lactylation Axis as a Metabolic-Epigenetic Framework for Therapeutic Adaptation in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Jingjie Yu, Yiyuan Cui, Sicong Li, Xinyu Guo, Nuo Li, Yuanye Gu, Yue Jin, Yufan Chen, Xinyu Li, Yijing Yan and 3 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Cancers, 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

13 authors.

Jingjie YuDepartment of Oncology and Hematology, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700, China.ORCID 0009-0001-6105-7399
Yiyuan CuiNational Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy for Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
Sicong LiNational Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy for Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.ORCID 0000-0002-6414-6645
Xinyu GuoDepartment of Oncology and Hematology, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700, China.
Nuo LiFangshan Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102400, China.
Yuanye GuLonghua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200032, China.
Yue JinDepartment of Oncology and Hematology, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700, China.
Yufan ChenNational Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy for Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
Xinyu LiDepartment of Oncology and Hematology, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700, China.
Yijing YanNational Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy for Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
Zhibin WuDepartment of Oncology and Hematology, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700, China.
Chenxin ZhuDepartment of Oncology and Hematology, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700, China.
Li FengNational Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy for Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.

Funding

National Key R&D Program of China 2023YFC3503200National Key R&D Program of China 2023YFC3503203
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Therapeutic failure in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) can arise as tumor cells and their microenvironment adapt to sustained treatment pressure. The lactate-lactylation axis may connect altered metabolism with adaptive treatment responses through changes in protein and chromatin regulation. However, how this axis contributes to therapeutic adaptation in ESCC and how its mechanistic evidence should be interpreted across different biological contexts remain incompletely defined. Here, we review lactate sources, the regulatory landscape of lysine lactylation, and emerging evidence linking this axis to heterogeneous treatment responses in ESCC. Studies in ESCC implicate several lactylation-related processes in therapeutic adaptation. These include poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) K654 lactylation in DNA damage responses, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) K631 and nudix hydrolase 21 (NUDT21) K23 lactylation in programmed cell death susceptibility, and the NIPA-like domain containing 1 (NIPAL1)-histone H3 lysine 18 lactylation(H3K18la) and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) K172la axes in immune microenvironment remodeling. The strength of evidence differs across individual mechanisms. Several site-specific lactylation events have been identified in ESCC models or patient-derived specimens and supported by functional validation, whereas the role of lactylation-associated pathways in predicting immunotherapy response requires further clinical investigation. Therefore, the lactate-lactylation axis is best viewed as an emerging metabolic-epigenetic network that connects cellular metabolic states with adaptive treatment phenotypes rather than as a universal resistance mechanism. Integrating longitudinal clinical cohorts, multi-omics profiling, and mechanistic studies will be critical for defining how lactate-lactylation signatures may support patient stratification and precision therapeutic strategies in ESCC.

Indexed as

esophageal squamous cell carcinomalactate metabolismlysine lactylationmetabolic reprogrammingtherapeutic adaptation

Identifiers

PMID42794956
PMCPMC13604821

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
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.