Tumoral PD-L1 Expression as a Prognostic Marker in Invasive Cervical Cancer

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Pathology

Background:

• Cervical cancer (CC) is a significant global health challenge, particularly in low-resource settings.
• Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is an immune biomarker with potential prognostic value in various cancers.
• The prognostic role of PD-L1 in CC requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the clinicopathological significance of tumoral PD-L1 expression in cervical cancer.
• To determine the prognostic impact of PD-L1, assessed by Tumor Proportion Score (TPS) and Combined Positive Score (CPS), on patient outcomes in CC.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 113 invasive CC patients treated between 2002 and 2016.
• Immunohistochemical analysis of PD-L1 (TPS and CPS), p16, p53, Ki-67, and hormone receptors on tissue microarrays.
• Correlation of PD-L1 expression with clinicopathological parameters and survival outcomes (OS, PFS).

Main Results:

• PD-L1 positivity was observed in 15.9% (TPS) and 54.9% (CPS) of CC cases.
• PD-L1 expression did not significantly correlate with most clinicopathological parameters.
• Multivariate analysis revealed PD-L1 positivity by CPS as an independent predictor of improved overall survival (OS), while TPS did not show significance.

Conclusions:

• Tumoral PD-L1 expression assessed by CPS is a favorable prognostic factor for OS in cervical cancer.
• PD-L1 assessment using TPS lacks prognostic impact in CC.
• CPS scoring offers superior insight into PD-L1-related immune activity and prognosis in CC.