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PD-L1 expression on immune cells, but not on tumor cells, is a favorable prognostic factor for head and neck cancer patients

2016; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 6; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/srep36956

2045-2322

Hye Ryun Kim, Sang‐Jun Ha, Min Hee Hong, Su Jin Heo, Yoon Woo Koh, Eun Chang Choi, Eun‐Kyung Kim, Kyoung‐Ho Pyo, Inkyung Jung, Daekwan Seo, Jae Woo Choi, Byoung Chul Cho, Sun Och Yoon,

Immune cells in cancer

Abstract To investigate the expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and immune checkpoints and their prognostic value for resected head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC). PD-L1 expression on tumor cells (TC) and tumor-infiltrating immune cells (IC), abundance of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), and expression of the immune checkpoints were investigated in 402 HNSCC patients. PD-L1 expression on TC and IC was categorized into four groups according to the percentage of PD-L1-positive cells. PD-L1 positivity was defined as ≥5% of cells based on immunohistochemistry. High PD-L1 expression on IC, but not TC, was an independent favorable prognostic factor for RFS and OS adjusted for age, gender, smoking, stage, and HPV. High frequencies of CD3 + or CD8 + TILs, Foxp3 + T reg s, and PD-1 + TILs were strongly associated with favorable prognosis. PD-L1 was exclusively expressed on either TC or IC. Transcriptome analysis demonstrated that IC3 expressed higher levels of the effector T cell markers than TC3, suggesting that PD-L1 expression is regulated via an adaptive IFNγ-mediated mechanism. High PD-L1 expression on IC, but not TC, and high abundance of PD-1 + T cells and Foxp3 + T reg s are favorable prognostic factors for resected HNSCC. This study highlights the importance of comprehensive assessment of both TC and IC.