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Significance of Programmed Death Ligand 1 (PD-L1) Immunohistochemical Expression in Colorectal Cancer

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Abstract

Introduction

The significance of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer remains to be determined.

Methods

We assessed the levels of PD-L1 expression in tumor-infiltrating immune cells as well as tumor cells, and evaluated the association between PD-L1 expression and clinical outcome in 262 colorectal cancer patients.

Results

In univariate analysis, TNM stage (p < 0.001), PD-L1 expression in tumor-infiltrating immune cells (p = 0.016), tumor location (p = 0.033), and tumor size (p = 0.019) were associated with survival. In multivariate analysis, PD-L1 expression in tumor infiltrating immune cells and TNM stage were independent prognostic factors (HR 1.83, 95 % CI 1.09–3.05, p = 0.021; HR 2.49, 95 % CI 1.51–4.12, p < 0.001, respectively). Eight percent of patients had positive PD-L1 expression in tumor cells. In contrast, PD-L1 expression in tumor cells was not significantly associated with patient clinical outcome.

Conclusions

Our data indicate that PD-L1 status in tumor-infiltrating immune cells is a significant prognostic factor in colorectal cancer patients. There is a need for randomized studies that evaluate the role of PD-L1 expression in colorectal cancer in treatment decision protocols for novel immunotherapy.

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Author notes

    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Pathology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, China

      Lisha Wang, Fei Ren, Qifeng Wang, Weiqi Sheng, Xiaoyan Zhou & Xiang Du

    2. Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China

      Lisha Wang, Fei Ren, Qifeng Wang, Weiqi Sheng, Xiaoyan Zhou & Xiang Du

    3. Michigan Center for Translational Pathology, University of Michigan, 1400 E. Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

      Lisha Wang

    4. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, 350 West 11th Street, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA

      Lee Ann Baldridge, M. Francesca Monn, Kurt W. Fisher & Liang Cheng

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    1. Lisha Wang
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    Correspondence to Lisha Wang.

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    Funding

    This study was supported by the grant from the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (15495810300), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81071791, 81401963).

    Conflicts of interest

    LW, FR, QW, LB, MM, KF, WS, XZ, XD, and LC, declare no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this article.

    Ethical approval and informed consent

    The study was carried out with the approval of the local Ethics Committee of Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center. The patients were informed about the subject and aim of the study before the start of the investigation.

    Author contributions

    The study was designed and performed by L. Wang, X. Du, and L. Cheng. L. Wang had primary responsibility for writing this article. All authors contributed and reviewed the data, and approved the final content of the manuscript.

    Additional information

    L. Wang and F. Ren have contributed equally.

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    Cite this article

    Wang, L., Ren, F., Wang, Q. et al. Significance of Programmed Death Ligand 1 (PD-L1) Immunohistochemical Expression in Colorectal Cancer. Mol Diagn Ther 20, 175–181 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40291-016-0188-1

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40291-016-0188-1

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