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Updated: Mar 6, 2026
Development of Compendium for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Published on: April 12, 2024
PD-L1 Expression Is a Prognostic Factor in Patients with Thoracic Esophageal Cancer Treated Without Adjuvant
Akiyuki Wakita1, Satoru Motoyama2, Hiroshi Nanjo3
1Department of Thoracic Surgery, Akita University Graduate School of Medicine, Akita, Japan wakita@gipc.akita-u.ac.jp.
Background/Aim:
Programmed death-1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) induces apoptosis of tumor-reactive T-cells, that enables tumors to evade immune defense and thus furthers their growth. Our aim was to determine whether PD-L1 expression status correlates with prognosis in patients with advanced thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
Patients And Methods:
The PD-L1 expression status of 177 patients treated with esophagectomy without preoperative therapy was evaluated immunohistochemically using tissue microarray. We then statistically analyzed the relationships between PD-L1 expression status and clinicopathological features and survival.
Results:
In patients undergoing surgery alone, PD-L1 expression was significantly positivity associated with a better prognosis. By contrast, there were no significant correlations between PD-L1 expression and clinicopathological features or outcomes in patients treated with surgery plus postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy.
Conclusion:
PD-L1 positivity in advanced thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma may be predictive of a positive prognosis in patients treated without adjuvant chemotherapy.