Clinical Research Directory

Organ-Specific Differences in Immunotherapy Response Among Metastatic Cancer Patients

This study examines how tumors in different metastatic organs respond to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICB) therapy in real-world clinical practice. ICB therapy helps the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells, but treatment responses may vary depending on where the cancer has spread. Common metastatic sites such as the liver, brain, lung, and bone each have unique immune environments that may influence treatment outcomes. The investigators will review the medical records of approximately 1,000 adults with solid tumors who received ICB therapy at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, and the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University since 2016. The study will compare treatment response, time until disease progression, and overall survival among patients with different metastatic sites. Additional outcomes include disease control, immunotherapy-related side effects, and concordance between primary and metastatic tumor responses. The study will also analyze available molecular and immune-profiling datasets to explore biological mechanisms that may explain organ-specific differences in ICB response. The goal is to improve understanding of how metastatic sites influence immunotherapy effectiveness and to support future treatment decision-making.

Association of BAL Fluid T-Cell Immune Activity With Tumor PD-L1 Expression and Its Prognostic Value: A Prospective Observational Study

This prospective observational study aims to evaluate whether immune profiles of T-cell subsets in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid can complement tumor PD-L1 expression, assessed by immunohistochemistry in tumor tissue specimens, in predicting clinical outcomes in patients with advanced lung cancer. Although tumor PD-L1 expression measured on tissue biopsies is widely used to guide immunotherapy decisions, its predictive value is limited by spatial heterogeneity and sampling variability. By analyzing activated, exhausted, and regulatory T-cell populations in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and examining their association with tissue-based tumor PD-L1 expression, this study seeks to determine whether combining local immune biomarkers with PD-L1 expression improves the prediction of treatment response and survival in patients receiving standard-of-care systemic therapy.

Mechanistic Study of SPARC-Mediated Regulation of Neutrophil Extracellular Trap Formation in the Brain Metastatic Microenvironment of Breast Cancer

The objective of this observational study is to investigate the characteristics of the tumor microenvironment in patients with brain tumors using multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The primary research question it aims to address is: • Can multi-modal MRI effectively characterize features of the immune microenvironment in brain tumor patients? Participants: Eligible participants who have been diagnosed with a brain tumor will undergo multi-modal MRI scans for detailed assessment of tumor microenvironment features.