Epithelial–mesenchymal transition in immune escape and immunotherapy resistance of lung cancerDownload PDF Download PDF ReviewOpen accessPublished: 10 October 2026Jialin Jin1 na1,Die Hu1 na1,Xuelin Zong1,Yuanxin Liu1,Rong Hu2 &…Shengjie Wang1 npj Precision Oncology (2026) Cite this articleSave articleView saved research We’re sharing this article early to provide faster access to peer-reviewed, accepted research. It is citable and carries a permanent DOI. This version is subject to further edits and will be replaced automatically by the final Version of Record. All legal disclaimers apply.AbstractEpithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) drives immunotherapy resistance in lung cancer through three interconnected axes: antigen/checkpoint dysregulation, chemokine remodeling, and metabolic reprogramming. We highlight partial EMT (pEMT) as a clinically prevalent hybrid state and biomarker candidate, and metabolic rewiring as an actionable immunometabolic vulnerability. EMT signatures may complement programmed death receptor ligand-1 (PD‑L1), but require treatment-by-biomarker interaction testing. Integrating these axes enables resistance-subtype stratification and precision combination therapy.AcknowledgementsThis work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82674388), the Qing Lan Project of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, the Scientific Research Project of Lianyungang Center for Medical Education and Innovation Research of Nanjing Medical University (LYGZD03), the “521 High-Level Talent Cultivation Project of Lianyungang City (LYG065212025064), and the Juxian Talent Program of Kangda College of Nanjing Medical University.Author informationAuthor notesThese authors contributed equally: Jialin Jin, Die Hu.Authors and AffiliationsDepartment of Basic Medicine, Kangda College of Nanjing Medical University; Lianyungang Center for Medical Education and Innovation Research of Nanjing Medical University, Lianyungang, ChinaJialin Jin, Die Hu, Xuelin Zong, Yuanxin Liu & Shengjie WangDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First People’s Hospital of Lianyungang, Lianyungang Center for Medical Education and Innovation Research of Nanjing Medical University, Lianyungang, P.R. ChinaRong HuAuthorsJialin JinView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarDie HuView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarXuelin ZongView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarYuanxin LiuView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarRong HuView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarShengjie WangView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarCorresponding authorsCorrespondence to Rong Hu or Shengjie Wang.Ethics declarationsCompeting interestsThe authors declare no competing interests.Additional informationPublisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.Rights and permissionsOpen Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.Reprints and permissionsAbout this article