Association of Programmed Death 1 Protein Ligand (PD-L1) Expression With Prognosis in Merkel Cell Carcinoma

Frontiers in Medicine

article

Glenn J. Hanna¹  Christian Ihling²  James A. DeCaprio¹  Jochen H. Lorch¹  Alec J. Kacew¹  Anusha R. Tanguturi³  Hans J. Grote²  Victoria Vergara¹  Beatrice Brunkhorst⁴  Guilherme Rabinowits⁵  Manisha Thakuria⁶  Nicole R. LeBoeuf⁶ 

[1] Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, United States;Merck KGaA;Boston University School of Medicine, United States;Research and Development Institute, United States;Miami Cancer Institute, United States;Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital, United States

关键词: PD-L1;    merkel cell carcinoma;    cancer;    neuroendocrine carcinoma;    prognostic biomarkers;    merkel cell polyomavirus;    MCPyV;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmed.2020.00198

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Background: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare neuroendocrine skin cancer. Prior to the advent of immunotherapy, treatment options were limited. In our study, we evaluate the impact of tumor cell PD-L1 expression and tumor immune microenvironment on survival in MCC patients who were not treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Methods: Clinical data and tissue samples were collected from 78 patients with confirmed MCC treated at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Specimens were analyzed for the distribution of PD-L1 by immunohistochemistry staining (IHC) and standardized analysis. Results were correlated with survival data. Results: In this study, membrane and cytoplasmic MCC tumor cell staining for PD-L1 was detected in 22.4% (15 of 67) of cases and PD-L1 staining of intratumoral microvessels and PD-L1 positive immune cells at the infiltrative margins of the tumor in 92.5% (62 of 67) of cases. In patients untreated with immune checkpoint inhibitors, median overall survival was not different for patients based on PD-L1 expression (PD-L1+ 64 months vs. PD-L1- not reached; HR = 1.26, 95% CI: 0.46–3.45; p = 0.60). Conclusion: PD-L1 expression is frequently detected in MCC tumor cells and tumor microenvironment. PD-L1 expression did not affect prognosis in this cohort that had not received PD-1/L1 blockade.

【 授权许可】

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