PD-L1 lineage-specific quantification in malignant pleural effusions of lung adenocarcinoma by flow cytometry

Pathologists encounter several challenges with programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) immunohistochemistry (IHC) tests in malignant effusions, including lineage specification (distinction between carcinoma vs. immune and mesothelial cells), background staining, sample fixation issues and inter-observer variability. We explored flow cytometric (FC) quantification of PD-L1 expression in malignant pleural effusions of lung adenocarcinoma patients as an alternative, automated, and objective quantification method compared to PD-L1 IHC.

We examined 23 malignant pleural effusions of TTF-1-positive adenocarcinoma were subjected to FC with a panel of antibodies against CD45, CD3, CD200, EpCAM, D2-40 (podoplanin), and PD-L1 (clone MIH1). The PD-L1 gate was established using fluorescence-minus-one (FMO) isotype controls. Lineage-specific PD-L1 surface expression was quantified and the FC tumor proportion score (TPS) was assessed. PD-L1 IHC was performed on cell block sections using Dako PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx assay and assessed by two cytopathologists blinded to the FC PD-L1 TPS.

FC analysis allowed for the distinction between carcinoma cells (CD45^-/EpCAM⁺/D2-40-), leukocytes (CD45⁺/EpCAM-/D2-40-) and mesothelial cells (CD45-/EpCAM-/D2-40⁺). FC PD-L1 TPS ranged from 0% to 77 %, while the 22C3 IHC PD-L1 TPS ranged from 0% to 97 %. The FC and IHC TPS values correlated positively (R = 0.8). Best concordance was observed when FC was performed and cell blocks were generated in parallel (R = 0.99). FC also allowed for simultaneous PD-L1 quantification in mesothelial and T-cells. PD-L1 expression on mesothelial cells ranged from 0% to 90.9 %, which also correlated positively with IHC TPS (R = 0.54). PD-L1 expression on T-cells was limited (0.1-2.9 %).

FC permits rapid, objective and lineage-specific PD-L1 surface expression quantification with limited specimen manipulation. The FC and IHC concordance was impacted by different antibody clones being used, but the positive correlation suggests potential clinical utility, especially in malignant effusion specimens.