Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 23, 2025
Using 22C3 Anti-PD-L1 Antibody Concentrate on Biopsy and Cytology Samples from Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients
Published on: September 25, 2018
Neoadjuvant treatment does not influence PD-L1 expression in stage III non-small-cell lung cancer: a retrospective
D König1, S Savic Prince2, S Hayoz3
1Department of Medical Oncology, University Hospital Basel, Basel.
Background:
The inclusion of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in the treatment of operable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer is becoming a new standard. Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) protein expression on tumor cells has emerged as the most important biomarker for sensitivity to ICIs targeting the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)-PD-L1 axis. Little is known about the impact of neoadjuvant treatment on PD-L1 expression.
Patients And Methods:
We assessed PD-L1 expression by immunohistochemistry (Ventana SP263 assay) on tumor cells in treatment-naive diagnostic tumor samples and matched lung resections from patients with stage III non-small-cell lung cancer included in the Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research (SAKK) trials 16/96, 16/00, 16/01, and 16/14. All patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (CT) with cisplatin/docetaxel, either as single modality (CT), with sequential radiotherapy [chemoradiation therapy (CRT)] or with the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab (CT + ICI).
Results:
Overall, 132 paired tumor samples were analyzed from patients with neoadjuvant CT (n = 69), CRT (n = 33) and CT + ICI (n = 30). For CT and CRT, PD-L1 expression before and after neoadjuvant treatment did not differ significantly (Wilcoxon test, P = 0.94). Likewise, no statistically significant difference was observed between CT and CRT for PD-L1 expression after neoadjuvant treatment (P = 0.97). For CT + ICI, PD-L1 expression before and after neoadjuvant treatment also did not differ significantly (Wilcoxon test, P > 0.99). Event-free survival and overall survival for patients with downregulation or upregulation of PD-L1 expression after neoadjuvant treatment were similar.
Conclusions:
In our cohort of patients neoadjuvant treatment did not influence PD-L1 expression, irrespective of the specific neoadjuvant treatment protocol. Dynamic change of PD-L1 expression did not correlate with event-free survival or overall survival.
Insights
Neoadjuvant treatment does not alter programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in stage III non-small-cell lung cancer. Changes in PD-L1 levels did not impact event-free or overall survival in patients receiving chemotherapy or chemoradiation.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Immunotherapy
- Cancer Biomarkers
Background:
- Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) targeting the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)-PD-L1 axis are a new standard for operable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
- Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression on tumor cells is a key biomarker for ICI sensitivity.
- The effect of neoadjuvant treatment on PD-L1 expression in NSCLC remains largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of neoadjuvant treatment on PD-L1 expression in stage III non-small-cell lung cancer.
- To determine if changes in PD-L1 expression correlate with clinical outcomes.
Main Methods:
- PD-L1 expression was assessed using immunohistochemistry (Ventana SP263 assay) on tumor samples from 132 patients with stage III NSCLC.
- Patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (CT), chemoradiation therapy (CRT), or CT plus an ICI (durvalumab).
- PD-L1 expression was compared before and after neoadjuvant treatment, and between treatment groups.
Main Results:
- Neoadjuvant treatment, including CT, CRT, and CT + ICI, did not significantly alter PD-L1 expression levels in tumor cells.
- No significant differences in PD-L1 expression were observed between CT and CRT groups post-treatment.
- Changes in PD-L1 expression (upregulation or downregulation) after neoadjuvant therapy did not correlate with event-free survival or overall survival.
Conclusions:
- Neoadjuvant treatment regimens do not appear to influence PD-L1 expression in stage III NSCLC.
- Dynamic changes in PD-L1 expression following neoadjuvant therapy are not predictive of survival outcomes in this cohort.
More Related Videos
06:03Orthotopic Transplantation of Syngeneic Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells to Study PD-L1 Expression
Published on: January 19, 2019
10:29Semi-automatic PD-L1 Characterization and Enumeration of Circulating Tumor Cells from Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients by Immunofluorescence
Published on: August 14, 2019