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High PD-L1 expression indicates poor prognosis of HIV-infected patients with non-small cell lung cancer

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A Correction to this article was published on 06 August 2018

This article has been updated

Abstract

Background

The status of antitumor immunity represented by the expression of programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and immune cell (IC) infiltration is unknown in HIV-infected patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods

Fifteen HIV-infected patients with NSCLC were compared with 29 non-HIV-infected patients with NSCLC. Analysis of 13 propensity-score-matched patients in the two groups was also compared. The expression of PD-1/PD-L1 and tumor infiltration by CD4+, CD8+, and CD56+ immune cells were examined by immunohistochemistry; score of ≥ 2 was defined as positive.

Results

Although high PD-L1 expression in tumor cells was observed in HIV and non-HIV cohorts, the association of PD-1/PD-L1 was significant only in the HIV cohort. In overall as well as the propensity-matched analyses, HIV-infected patients with high PD-L1 expression showed shorter survival than HIV-infected patients with low PD-L1 expression; no significant difference was observed in this respect in the non-HIV cohort.

Conclusion

High PD-L1 expression in tumor tissue was associated with poor prognosis in HIV-infected NSCLC patients but not in non-HIV-infected NSCLC patients. These results suggest that antitumor immunity by PD-1/PD-L1 axis might be suppressed more in HIV-infected NSCLC patients as compared to their non-HIV-infected counterparts.

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Change history

  • 06 August 2018

    The graphs are incorrectly identified in Fig. 3i, s and should be replaced with the following.

Abbreviations

CI:

Confidence interval

ECOG:

Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group

EGFR:

Epidermal growth factor receptor

FFPE:

Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded

ICs:

Immune cells

IHC:

Immunohistochemistry

NADCs:

Non-AIDS defining cancers

NSCLC:

Non-small cell lung cancer

PS:

Performance status

TC:

Tumor cells

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Makoto Saito, the Senior Biostatistician in the Office for Clinical Research Support in Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious diseases Center Komagome Hospital, for advice on statistical analyses. They also thank Masumi Ogawa, the Technical Staff of Department of Pathology in Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious diseases Center Komagome Hospital, for pathological procedures. The authors would like to acknowledge Enago (http://www.enago.jp) for English language editing services.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Divison of Oncology, Research Center for Medical Sciences, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-shimbashi, Manato, Tokyo, 105-8461, Japan

    Yusuke Okuma & Sadamu Homma

  2. Department of Thoracic Oncology and Respiratory Medicine, Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious diseases Center Komagome Hospital, 3-18-22 Honkomagome, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8677, Japan

    Yusuke Okuma

  3. Department of Pathology, Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious diseases Center Komagome Hospital, 3-18-22 Honkomagome, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8677, Japan

    Tsunekazu Hishima & Jumpei Kashima

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  1. Yusuke Okuma
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Correspondence to Yusuke Okuma.

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Okuma, Y., Hishima, T., Kashima, J. et al. High PD-L1 expression indicates poor prognosis of HIV-infected patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Cancer Immunol Immunother 67, 495–505 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00262-017-2103-y

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