Tumor microenvironment-oriented HNGCIscore identifies immunotherapy-sensitive subgroups in ICI retreatment of HER2-negative advanced gastric cancer

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This study evaluated ICI-based retreatment in 144 patients with HER2-negative advanced gastric cancer after progression on first-line therapy.
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Retreatment strategies included cross-line ICI continuation and ICI rechallenge, with distinct clinical outcomes observed for each.
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The study identified two immune/TME subtypes and developed the HNGCIscore, a biomarker framework to predict immunotherapy response.
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A seven-gene signature and a simplified three-gene model showed potential in identifying patients likely to benefit from immunotherapy.
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Findings suggest that ICI-based retreatment is feasible with manageable toxicity, but require validation in larger prospective cohorts.

Frontiers In Oncology

by Xuemin Song, Yiting Wu, Yingming Zhu, Yueqi He, Jinjun Shi, Ke Ren, Chanchan Gao
July 1, 2026

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