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Updated: Dec 12, 2025
Identifying Dysregulated Genes Induced by Kaposi's Sarcoma-associated Herpesvirus KSHV
Published on: September 14, 2010
PD-1 and PD-L1 expression in Kaposi sarcoma: A comparative study according to the pathological stage and clinical
Young Jae Kim1, Chang Jin Jung1, Chong Hyun Won1
1Department of Dermatology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
Background:
Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is a mesenchymal tumor with distinct histopathological features according to stage of progression. Programmed death-1 (PD-1) and its ligand PD-L1 play major roles in the immune escape strategy of tumors.
Objectives:
This study evaluated expression of PD-1 and PD-L1 in various stages of KS and investigated associations between their expression and clinical characteristics.
Methods:
Fifty cases with histopathologically diagnosed KS were classified as early or late stage. These specimens were stained with anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 antibodies. The extent of expression in the intratumoral and peritumoral areas was judged by two dermatopathologists.
Results:
PD-1 and PD-L1 were expressed in 72.2% (13/18) and 11.1% (2/18) of early-stage cases, respectively, compared with 43.8% (14/32) and 28.1% (9/32) of late-stage cases, respectively. At the late stage, PD-1 expression was significantly higher in the peritumoral area than in the intratumoral area (P = 0.001). PD-1 expression in the intratumoral area was significantly higher at the early stage than at the late stage (P = 0.013). PD-L1 expression in the peritumoral area was significantly higher at the late stage than at the early stage (P = 0.038).
Conclusions:
The pattern of PD-1 and PD-L1 expression differs according to the stage of KS, but is unaffected by clinical variables.
