Programmed Cell Death Ligand 1 Expression in Resected Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Hui Yu1, Odd Terje Brustugun2, Simon Ekman3
1Division of Medical Oncology, University of Colorado Anschutz Campus, Aurora, CO.
Clinical Lung Cancer
|November 20, 2020
Summary
PD-L1 protein expression was evaluated in resectable early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). While PD-L1 expression correlated with tumor stage and specific gene mutations, it did not independently predict survival in this cohort.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Immunology
- Genetics
Background:
- Anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) immunotherapies show promise in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
- Interest is growing in applying these immunotherapies to early-stage resectable NSCLC.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate PD-L1 protein expression in resectable early-stage NSCLC.
- To examine the relationship between PD-L1 expression and clinical characteristics.
- To determine the prognostic role of PD-L1 expression in resected NSCLC.
Main Methods:
- Studied a cohort of 875 NSCLC tumors from Sweden and Norway.
- Assessed PD-L1 protein expression using immunohistochemistry (Dako PD-L1 22C3 pharmDx kit).
- Compared PD-L1 tumor proportion score with demographic and clinicopathologic data.
Main Results:
- Overall PD-L1 expression prevalence was 9.5% (tumor proportion score ≥ 50%).
- Stage I NSCLC showed lower PD-L1 expression than other stages.
- PD-L1 expression correlated with wild-type EGFR and mutated KRAS, but not independently with mortality.
Conclusions:
- PD-L1 expression in resectable NSCLC was relatively low compared to advanced NSCLC.
- PD-L1 expression correlated with tumor stage, wild-type EGFR, and KRAS mutation.
- PD-L1 expression was not an independent prognostic factor in this study, but findings may inform future immunotherapy trials.
