Association of programmed death ligand 1 expression with prognosis among patients with ten uncommon advanced cancers

PD-L1 expression and high levels of microsatellite instability (MSI-H) may predict response to checkpoint inhibitors, but their prevalence and prognostic value are unknown in many cancers.

We retrospectively evaluated PD-L1 combined positive score (CPS) and MSI-H and their association with clinical outcomes among patients with ten advanced uncommon cancers.

398 of 426 patients (93%) had a valid PD-L1 result; most (242; 61%) had CPS ≥1. Prevalence of MSI-H tumors was 8/360. Median overall survival was shorter among patients with PD-L1 CPS ≥1 tumors after first-line treatment (23.0 vs 39.7 months, p = 0.014).

PD-L1 was commonly expressed in solid tumors, and CPS ≥1 was associated with shorter overall survival. Prevalence of MSI-H was low.