Affiliation:
1. Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Ngan Shing Street, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong
2. Department of Pathology, Kwong Wah Hospital, Hong Kong
3. Department of Pathology, Tuen Mun Hospital, Hong Kong
Abstract
Abstract
Background
PD-L1 has been used as a biomarker to select patients for treatment of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors.
Materials and Methods
In this study, we assessed the clinicopathological features of breast cancers that are associated with PD-L1 expression, as well as its relationship with other immune components and its prognostic significance.
Results
Totally 1752 cases were included in this cohort. PD-L1 expression in tumor-infiltrating immune cells (PD-L1-IC) expression and in tumor cells (PD-L1-TC) expression were identified in 34.2% and 10.1% of cases, respectively, and they showed a positive correlation with higher tumor grade, morphological apocrine features, presence of necrosis, and higher stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (sTIL). PD-L1-IC and PD-L1-TC expression correlated positively with each other, and both of them were negatively associated with estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor and positively associated with Ki67, HER2, EGFR, p63, and p-cadherin. In survival analysis, PD-L1-IC expression was associated with better disease-free survival (DFS) and breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) in HER2-overexpressed (HER2-OE) cancers and high–grade luminal B cancers. In triple–negative breast cancers (TNBC) and HER2–OE cancers, compared with sTIL low PD-L1-IC negative cases, sTIL high cases showed significantly better DFS independent of PD-L1-IC status. sTIL low PD-L1-IC positive cases also demonstrated a better DFS in HER2–OE cancers. In high–grade luminal B cancers, sTIL high PD-L1-IC positive cases showed the best BCSS.
Conclusion
The data suggested that the combining analysis of sTIL and PD-L1-IC expression refined the prognostication of breast cancer subtypes. Cases with high TIL and PD-LI-IC expression appear to be more immune active.
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Cited by
15 articles.
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