Zhihao Yin1,2,3,#, Xi Zhen4,#, Haonan Li1,2,3,#, Haiqiang Duan1,2,3,#, Xiaowei Hu5,#, Tianxi Yu1, Qing Shi1, Ziyi Liu1, Yaowei Li1, Peng Zhang1, Peng Dai1, Meihui Zhao6, Ziqi Wang1,2,3,7,*, Changfu Li2,*, Di Wang1,*, Zhichao Tong1,3,5,8,9,*
Oncology Research, Vol.34, No.7, 2026, DOI:10.32604/or.2026.077808
- 16 June 2026
Abstract Backgrounds: Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) are increasingly recognized as modulators of anti-tumor immunity, yet their clinical relevance in bladder cancer remains incompletely understood, partly owing to heterogeneity in their maturation states. Here, we demonstrate that germinal center (GC)–like TLS maturity, rather than TLS presence alone, is closely associated with immune activation and therapeutic response to Programmed Death-Ligand 1 (PD-L1) blockade in bladder cancer. The objective of this study was to systematically investigate the clinical significance, biological function, and therapeutic potential of tertiary lymphoid structure (TLS) maturation in bladder cancer. Specifically, we aimed to determine whether GC-like… More >