The expression status and clinical value of TIM-3 in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma
High TIM-3 expression in bile duct cancers marks worse outcomes and may be targetable with emerging immunotherapy approaches.
In 117 surgically resected ICC patients, high TIM-3 expression in tumor cells was an independent adverse prognostic factor for disease-free survival, correlated with immune cell infiltration patterns that may indicate TIM-3's role in immune exhaustion. This supports TIM-3 as a potential immunotherapy target in ICC, where treatment options are limited.
What the study was
- Study design
- Retrospective cohort with immunohistochemistry
- Population
- 117 ICC patients treated surgically with IHC analysis for TIM-3 and other immune checkpoints
- Sample size
- 117
- Category
- Genomics/Precision Medicine
- Maturity
- Exploratory
- Journal
- BMC Cancer
Why it surfaced
TIM-3 in ICC is clinically relevant as ICC has poor prognosis and limited immunotherapy options; n=117 is modest but provides DFS prognostic independence.
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