PD-L1 and c-MET expression and survival in patients with small cell lung cancer
Lulu Miao1, Yunyun Lu1, Yanjun Xu1
1Department of Thoracic Medical Oncology, Hangzhou, 310022, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
Background:
Blocking the binding between the PD-1 and PD-L1 has been reported to produce antitumor responses. The MET/HGF axis appears to be another signaling pathway frequently altered in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Our study was aimed to investigate the expression and prognostic roles of PD-L1 and c-MET in SCLC.
Methods:
The expression levels of PD-L1 and c-MET were evaluated by immunohistochemical analysis in 83 SCLC specimens. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method.
Results:
Of the SCLC specimens, 51.8% and 25.3% exhibited positivity for PD-L1 and c-MET, respectively. Higher PD-L1 expression in tumor specimens was significantly correlated with a limited disease (LD) stage, normal levels of serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE). No association was found between the levels of c-MET and PD-L1 expression or between c-MET expression and other clinical characteristics. SCLC patients with PD-L1-positive tumors showed significantly longer overall survival (OS) than patients with PD-L1-negative tumors (17.0 vs 9.0, p=0.018). Conversely, those with positive c-MET expression exhibited a shorter OS trend (12.0 vs 15.0, p=0.186). However, sub-analysis of LD-stage patients revealed longer OS among the c-MET-negative group (25.0 vs 14.0; p=0.011). The OS of patients with positivity for both PD-L1 and c-MET showed no significant difference compared with other patients (p=0.17). According to multivariate analyses, neither PD-L1 nor c-MET immunoreactivity was a prognostic factor.
Conclusion:
Expression of PD-L1 was correlated with LD stage and might serve as a prognostic for better OS in SCLC patients. In LD-stage patients, high c-MET expression might be predictive of a poor outcome.
Insights
Programmed cell death protein 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression is linked to better overall survival in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). High c-MET expression may predict poor outcomes in limited-stage SCLC patients.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Immunology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- The PD-1/PD-L1 pathway is a target for cancer immunotherapy.
- The MET/HGF axis is frequently altered in small cell lung cancer (SCLC).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the expression and prognostic significance of PD-L1 and c-MET in SCLC.
Main Methods:
- Immunohistochemical analysis of PD-L1 and c-MET in 83 SCLC specimens.
- Kaplan-Meier survival analysis to assess prognostic roles.
Main Results:
- PD-L1 positivity was observed in 51.8% of SCLC specimens and correlated with limited disease (LD) stage.
- PD-L1-positive tumors were associated with significantly longer overall survival (OS) (17.0 vs 9.0 months, p=0.018).
- High c-MET expression showed a trend towards shorter OS, but in LD-stage patients, c-MET negativity predicted longer OS (25.0 vs 14.0 months, p=0.011).
Conclusions:
- PD-L1 expression is associated with LD stage and may predict better OS in SCLC.
- High c-MET expression in LD-stage SCLC patients might indicate a poor prognosis.
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