Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 7, 2026

Competing-Risk Nomogram for Predicting Cancer-Specific Survival in Multiple Primary Colorectal Cancer Patients after Surgery
Published on: September 27, 2024
Is high serum programmed death ligand 1 level a risk factor for poor survival in patients with gastric cancer?
Masaaki Ito1,2, Yoko Oshima1, Satoshi Yajima1
1Department of Surgery Toho University School of Medicine Tokyo Japan.
Background And Aim:
Although the clinicopathological significance of the expression of programmed death ligand 1(PD-L1) in various cancer tissues has been reported, serum PD-L1 level has not been evaluated in patients with surgically treated gastric cancer. Therefore, we evaluated the clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic significance of preoperative serum PD-L1 levels in patients with gastric cancer.
Patients And Methods:
Serum samples were obtained before surgery from 152 patients with gastric cancer, including 75 patients with stage I, 31 with stage II, 23 with stage III, and 23 with stage IV gastric cancer. The samples were analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect soluble PD-L1. Using the median serum PD-L1 level of 50 pg/mL, patients were divided into two groups, namely high serum and low serum PD-L1 level groups. Clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis were compared between these two groups using univariate and multivariate analysis.
Results:
Serum PD-L1 level was significantly associated with older age, positive cancer antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), C-reactive protein levels, and albumin levels but not with tumor stage. Patients in the high serum PD-L1 group showed significantly worse overall survival and recurrence-free survival than those in the low serum PD-L1 group (P < .05). Multivariate analysis showed that high serum PD-L1 level was an independent risk factor for poor overall survival (P = .02).
Conclusion:
High serum PD-L1 level was a prognostic factor for reduced overall survival in patients with surgically treated gastric cancer.
Related Concept Videos
Factors Affecting the Risk of Infection
The integrity and count of the white blood cells help the body resist pathogens and fight infection. When impaired, it reduces the body's resistance to pathogens. The acidic pH levels of the gastrointestinal, genitourinary tracts, and skin...
Cancer Survival Analysis
Factors Affecting Protein-Drug Binding: Patient-Related Factors
Age stands as a key determinant in protein-drug binding. Neonates, characterized by low albumin content, experience heightened concentrations of unbound drugs such as phenytoin and...
Ligand Binding Sites
Protein-ligand interactions are quite specific; even though numerous potential ligands surround a cellular protein at any given time, only a particular ligand can bind to that protein. Moreover, a ligand binds only to a dedicated area on the surface of the protein, known as the...
Metal-Ligand Bonds
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...
Ligand Binding and Linkage

