Translational cancer research最新文献

{"title":"The place of acalabrutinib-obinutuzumab combination in the first-line treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.","authors":"Agnieszka Szymczyk, Iwona Hus","doi":"10.21037/tcr-2026-1094","DOIUrl":"10.21037/tcr-2026-1094","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23216,"journal":{"name":"Translational cancer research","volume":"15 8","pages":"661"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13559681/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148930303","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A SEER based SHAP interpretable prognostic nomogram for overall survival in surgically treated patients with colorectal cancer and synchronous liver metastasis.","authors":"Shaowei Jiang, Lulu Qi, Jiaqi Yuan, Haiyun Zhang","doi":"10.21037/tcr-2026-1095","DOIUrl":"10.21037/tcr-2026-1095","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Colorectal cancer (CRC) with liver metastasis is associated with poor prognosis and substantial heterogeneity in survival outcomes. Accurate risk stratification is essential for individualized treatment planning, yet reliable and interpretable prognostic tools remain limited. Therefore, this study aimed to develop and validate a prognostic model for overall survival (OS) in a predominantly surgically treated cohort of patients with CRC and synchronous liver metastasis at diagnosis based on Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data, and to enhance model interpretability using SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) analysis.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data of patients with CRC with liver metastasis diagnosed between 2011 and 2018 were obtained from the SEER database. OS was used as the endpoint. Kaplan-Meier analysis and univariate and multivariable Cox regression were performed, and multivariable Cox regression was used to identify independent prognostic factors. A nomogram was constructed, and its performance was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, calibration curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA). SHAP analysis was further applied to improve model interpretability.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a poor overall prognosis, with a median OS of 25 months. Multivariable Cox regression identified age, tumor location, differentiation, metastatic stage, preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), perineural invasion, bone metastases, metastasectomy, postoperative chemotherapy, and lymph node ratio (LNR) as independent prognostic factors for OS. Based on these variables, a nomogram was developed to predict 12-, 36-, and 60-month OS. The model showed good discrimination, calibration, and clinical utility in both the training and validation sets. SHAP analysis further improved model interpretability by showing the relative contribution of each predictor to survival estimation.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We developed and internally validated a prognostic nomogram for OS in patients with CRC with liver metastasis based on SEER data. The model showed acceptable predictive performance and may provide supportive information for individualized prognosis evaluation in this population.</p>","PeriodicalId":23216,"journal":{"name":"Translational cancer research","volume":"15 8","pages":"644"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13559583/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148930898","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A real-world feasibility and safety study of anlotinib monotherapy in heavily pretreated or temozolomide-ineligible recurrent malignant glioma.","authors":"Xudong Sun, Dongmei Wu, Xueying Zhang, Yulong Tian, Changli Shi, Guangcheng Ding","doi":"10.21037/tcr-2026-1145","DOIUrl":"10.21037/tcr-2026-1145","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Anlotinib, a multi-target angiogenesis inhibitor, has shown antitumor activity in various solid tumors. However, its role as monotherapy in recurrent malignant glioma remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of anlotinib monotherapy in patients with recurrent malignant glioma who had limited treatment options after failure of standard therapies or were unable to tolerate further chemotherapy or re-irradiation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Patients who had failed prior therapy, were not able to tolerate current therapy, or who did not qualify for additional temozolomide or radiotherapy received anlotinib monotherapy. All patients received oral anlotinib at an initial dose of 12 mg once daily on days 1-14 of each 21-day cycle until radiographic disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, withdrawal of consent, or death. Follow-up duration was estimated using the reverse Kaplan-Meier method. The primary endpoint was the 6-month progression-free survival (PFS) rate. Secondary endpoints included the objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), treatment exposure, dose modifications, and treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In this small cohort of 18 patients, the median follow-up duration was 9.2 months (range, 3.1-18.4 months). The estimated 6-month PFS rate was 66.7% [95% confidence interval (CI): 42.0-91.4%], and median PFS was not reached at the data cutoff. The ORR was 38.9% (7/18; 95% CI: 17.3-64.3%), and the DCR was 88.9% (16/18; 95% CI: 65.3-98.6%). The median treatment duration was 6.3 months (range, 1.4-16.8 months), corresponding to a median of 9 treatment cycles (range, 2-24 cycles). Six patients (33.3%) required temporary treatment interruption, and 3 patients (16.7%) required dose reduction from 12 to 10 mg daily. Most TEAEs were grade 1-2. One patient (5.6%) experienced grade 3 thrombocytopenia, and no treatment-related deaths occurred. Overall survival (OS) data were immature because of the short follow-up duration.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In this small retrospective cohort, anlotinib monotherapy showed preliminary short-term disease control with manageable toxicity. Given the 9.2-month median follow-up and immature OS data, these exploratory findings require prospective validation.</p>","PeriodicalId":23216,"journal":{"name":"Translational cancer research","volume":"15 8","pages":"650"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13559590/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148930927","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Distant lymph node metastasis in head and neck cancer: incidence, predictors, and survival outcomes in a population-based cohort.","authors":"Jianlin Yue, Dayu Liu, Ruijie Sun, Huidong Zhang, Suyuan Sun","doi":"10.21037/tcr-2026-1133","DOIUrl":"10.21037/tcr-2026-1133","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Distant lymph node metastasis (DLM) is rare in head and neck cancer (HNC), occurring in only 0.76% of cases, underscoring the importance of understanding its clinical behavior. However, population-based data on the incidence, predictors, and prognostic implications of DLM relative to other metastatic patterns remain limited. This study aimed to determine the incidence of DLM at diagnosis, identify its independent predictors, and evaluate the impact of DLM and its treatment on survival in a population-based cohort of patients with HNC.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We performed a retrospective cohort study using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database [2016-2022] and identified 42,908 patients with HNC. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with DLM at diagnosis. Overall survival (OS) was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Cancer-specific mortality was assessed using a competing-risks analysis, while treatment effects within the DLM-positive cohort were studied using a 3-month landmark analysis to reduce immortal-time bias.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>DLM was present at diagnosis in 325 patients (0.76%). Independent prognostic factors were age 60 years or older, hypopharyngeal tumor primary site, advanced tumor (T) and node (N) stage, neuroendocrine carcinoma, and melanoma (all P<0.05). Model discrimination was good [area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) =0.835]. Patients with DLM had significantly shorter median OS than those without distant metastasis (8.0 <i>vs.</i> 78.0 months, P<0.001). Among the DLM-positive population, isolated nodal disease correlated with longer median OS than DLM in the presence of visceral spread (12.0 <i>vs.</i> 6.0 months; P<0.001), and this benefit persisted in a competing-risks analysis for cancer-specific death. In the landmark analysis, combined chemoradiotherapy remained associated with improved survival compared with no active treatment [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) =0.41, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.26-0.63; P<0.001].</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These findings suggest that subclassifying metastatic disease could enhance risk stratification and guide more personalized treatment strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":23216,"journal":{"name":"Translational cancer research","volume":"15 8","pages":"633"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13559562/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148931077","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparative efficacy of liver resection <i>vs</i>. radiofrequency ablation for small hepatocellular carcinoma stratified by alpha-fetoprotein status: a retrospective cohort study using restricted mean survival time and number needed to treat analysis.","authors":"Hong Chen, Junbin Zhou","doi":"10.21037/tcr-2026-0781","DOIUrl":"10.21037/tcr-2026-0781","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The choice between liver resection (LR) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ≤3 cm remains controversial. This study evaluated whether alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) status modulates the comparative efficacy of these modalities using absolute benefit metrics.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Patients with T1N0M0 HCC (≤3 cm) treated with LR or RFA were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program database. After 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM), cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. Restricted mean survival time (RMST) and number needed to treat (NNT) were utilized to quantify the absolute clinical gain of LR over RFA.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among 1,119 identified patients, 235 matched pairs were analyzed. LR demonstrated superior survival in the overall cohort (P<0.001). A significant interaction was observed between treatment modality and AFP status (P_interaction<0.01). In AFP-negative patients, LR provided a profound survival advantage [CSS: hazard ratio (HR) =0.362; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.220-0.594; P<0.001], translating into a substantial RMST extension of 8.1 months and a low NNT of 4. Conversely, in the AFP-positive subgroup, this surgical advantage was notably attenuated (CSS: HR =0.800; 95% CI: 0.555-1.152; P=0.23), with the RMST extension dropping to 3.5 months and the NNT increasing to 12.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The superiority of LR over RFA in small HCC is significantly modulated by AFP-defined tumor biology. AFP-negative patients derive profound absolute survival gains from surgery, whereas benefits in AFP-positive cases are marginal, supporting RFA as a viable alternative for biologically aggressive tumors.</p>","PeriodicalId":23216,"journal":{"name":"Translational cancer research","volume":"15 8","pages":"646"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13559617/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148930769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prognostic and clinicopathologic significance of FGFR mRNA and protein overexpression in colorectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.","authors":"Xinke Chai, Changsheng Li, Yuchen Luo, Qian Shen, Shifeng Wu, Qiulin Huang","doi":"10.21037/tcr-2026-0882","DOIUrl":"10.21037/tcr-2026-0882","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background: &lt;/strong&gt;Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent malignancies worldwide. Fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs), a family of receptor tyrosine kinases, regulate key cellular processes including proliferation, differentiation, and angiogenesis. Although dysregulated FGFR signaling has been implicated in cancer progression, the clinical significance of FGFR overexpression and its association with prognosis in CRC remain unclear, with inconsistent findings across FGFR subtypes, detection methods, and cutoff thresholds. Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed to systematically evaluate the association between FGFR protein/mRNA overexpression and prognosis and clinicopathological characteristics in CRC patients.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods: &lt;/strong&gt;Following the PRISMA guidelines, we searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library from inception through March 12, 2026, for observational cohort studies evaluating the association between FGFR overexpression and survival outcomes in histologically confirmed CRC patients. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Primary outcomes were overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and progression-free survival (PFS); secondary outcomes included vascular invasion, lymph node metastasis, and distant metastasis. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated, and subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;Thirteen studies involving 3,005 CRC patients were included, with a median NOS score of 7 (range, 5-8), indicating high methodological quality. FGFR overexpression was significantly associated with poorer OS (HR =1.95, 95% CI: 1.67-2.28) and DFS (HR =1.47, 95% CI: 1.05-2.07). Subgroup analyses showed that adverse prognostic associations were predominantly observed for FGFR2 (HR =2.79) and FGFR4 (HR =1.96) overexpression, whereas FGFR1 and FGFR3 overexpression showed no significant association with survival. Overall FGFR overexpression was significantly correlated with vascular invasion (OR =2.59, 95% CI: 1.12-5.97) but not with lymph node or distant metastasis.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusions: &lt;/strong&gt;The overall pooled analysis demonstrated that FGFR overexpression is significantly associated with poorer OS, DFS, and an increased risk of vascular invasion in CRC patients. Subgroup analyses further revealed that the adverse prognostic associations were particularly pronounced in cases of FGFR2 and FGFR4 overexpression, whereas FGFR1 and FGFR3 overexpression did not exhibit statistically significant associations with survival outcomes. These findings suggest that FGFR overexpression, especially involving specific FGFR subtypes, may represent a crucial molecular feature linked to CRC progression and prognosis. Further prospective studies are necessary to validate the prognostic relevance of FGFR subtype-specific ","PeriodicalId":23216,"journal":{"name":"Translational cancer research","volume":"15 8","pages":"580"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13559577/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148931038","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Retraction: Long non-coding RNA MEG3 functions as a competing endogenous RNA of miR-93 to regulate bladder cancer progression via PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.","authors":"","doi":"10.21037/tcr-20262-4","DOIUrl":"10.21037/tcr-20262-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>[This retracts the article DOI: 10.21037/tcr.2020.01.70.].</p>","PeriodicalId":23216,"journal":{"name":"Translational cancer research","volume":"15 8","pages":"675"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13559614/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148931103","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"CircFN1 promotes invasion of papillary thyroid carcinoma cells by activating the PI3K/AKT pathway via the miR-29a/TRIB2 axis.","authors":"Ning Zhang, Jingyan Zhang, Xiaonuo Wang, Ming Tao, Gongqi Li, Yanjiao Li, Qingyang Bai, Qiuting Wen","doi":"10.21037/tcr-2026-1-0061","DOIUrl":"10.21037/tcr-2026-1-0061","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Circular RNAs regulate cancer progression, but their mechanisms in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) invasion remain incompletely defined. This study investigated circFN1 expression and function and examined whether circFN1 promotes PTC invasion through microRNA-29a (miR-29a)/tribbles pseudokinase 2 (TRIB2)-mediated PI3K/AKT activation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The abundance of TRIB2 and p-AKT in paired PTC and adjacent non-cancerous tissues was first assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC), and circFN1, miR-29a, TRIB2, p-PI3K and p-AKT were further evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting. In TPC-1 cells, circFN1 overexpression/knockdown, miR-29a overexpression/inhibition and TRIB2 overexpression models were established. Cell proliferation, colony formation, apoptosis, migration and invasion were assessed. Dual-luciferase reporter and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays were used to validate miR-29a/TRIB2 targeting and circFN1-miR-29a association. The phosphorylation status of crucial proteins within the PI3K/AKT signaling cascade (p-PI3K, p-AKT) was detected by qRT-PCR and Western Blot to confirm the activation status of this signaling axis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Examination of clinical specimens indicated that the abundance of TRIB2 and p-AKT showed significant upregulation when compared with adjacent normal tissues. Additional paired-tissue validation further showed increased circFN1 and TRIB2 expression, decreased miR-29a expression, and enhanced PI3K/AKT phosphorylation in PTC tissues. <i>In vitro</i> functional experiments demonstrated that elevated expression of circFN1 markedly enhanced the growth, migration, and invasion of PTC cells while concurrently suppressing their apoptosis, whereas knockdown of circFN1 produced contrary results. Mechanistic studies revealed that circFN1 could function as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) for miR-29a, negatively regulating its expression through a sponging effect. The newly added RIP-based assay evidence supported the direct association between circFN1 and miR-29a. The dual-luciferase reporter assay further confirmed that TRIB2 is a direct target of miR-29a. TRIB2 overexpression was sufficient to increase PTC cell migration and invasion and to enhance p-PI3K/PI3K and p-AKT/AKT ratios. Consequently, circFN1 competitively binds to miR-29a, thereby relieving the inhibition of its downstream target gene TRIB2, leading to an upregulation of TRIB2 protein expression. Ultimately, the upregulation of TRIB2 activated the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, as demonstrated by a substantial rise in the phosphorylation status of p-PI3K and p-AKT.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>circFN1 may promote PTC invasion through the miR-29a/TRIB2/PI3K/AKT axis. This axis represents a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for assessing invasion risk in PTC.</p>","PeriodicalId":23216,"journal":{"name":"Translational cancer research","volume":"15 8","pages":"631"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13559673/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148931113","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Erratum: Nomogram for predicting cancer-specific mortality risk in endometrial cancer after postoperative radiotherapy.","authors":"","doi":"10.21037/tcr-20262-8","DOIUrl":"10.21037/tcr-20262-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>[This corrects the article DOI: 10.21037/tcr-2025-1-2656.].</p>","PeriodicalId":23216,"journal":{"name":"Translational cancer research","volume":"15 8","pages":"674"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13559626/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148931133","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Epigallocatechin gallate is associated with PDGFRB downregulation and altered PI3K-AKT signaling in gastric cancer.","authors":"Yubo Zhao, Yuhang Li, Hongqun Zheng","doi":"10.21037/tcr-2026-0722","DOIUrl":"10.21037/tcr-2026-0722","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Gastric cancer (GC) remains a major cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a natural polyphenol derived from green tea, exhibits anticancer properties; however, its molecular targets and regulatory mechanisms in GC are not fully elucidated. This study aimed to identify candidate EGCG-associated genes in GC and generate a hypothesis for future mechanistic investigation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in GC were identified and intersected with EGCG-associated targets retrieved from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and GeneCards public databases. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression and Cox proportional hazards analyses were performed to screen prognostically relevant genes. Diagnostic performance was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Functional enrichment analysis was conducted to explore biological significance. Public single-cell RNA sequencing datasets were analyzed to determine the cellular localization of platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta (PDGFRB), while DepMap transcriptomic data were used to assess its expression across GC cell lines. In vitro assays, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), Transwell migration, and Western blotting, were performed to evaluate the biological effects of EGCG on GC-associated signaling pathways.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Thirty-eight EGCG-associated DEGs were identified. Enrichment analysis revealed these genes were involved in cancer-associated pathways. LASSO-Cox modelling identified four candidate genes. Among them, PDGFRB was selected for further investigation based on its prognostic relevance and favorable diagnostic performance. PDGFRB expression was significantly higher in the TCGA genomically stable (GS) subtype than in the other molecular subtypes and was predominantly localized to cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and pericytes in single-cell RNA sequencing analysis. DepMap data demonstrated heterogeneous PDGFRB expression across GC cell lines. In vitro experiments showed that EGCG inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion, reduced PDGFRB protein expression, and was associated with apoptosis-related protein changes and altered PI3K-AKT signaling.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings suggest that EGCG treatment was associated with reduced PDGFRB expression and altered PI3K-AKT signaling in GC cells. These findings identify PDGFRB as a candidate EGCG-associated gene and provide a hypothesis for future mechanistic investigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":23216,"journal":{"name":"Translational cancer research","volume":"15 8","pages":"625"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13559621/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148931142","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}