International immunopharmacology
-
Int. Immunopharmacol. · Nov 2017
Prognostic value of tumor PD-L1 expression combined with CD8+ tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in high grade serous ovarian cancer.
Expression of programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is known to be a mechanism whereby cancer can escape immune surveillance, but the relationship between tumor PD-L1 expression and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), and their association with clinical outcomes in patients with high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) remain ambiguous. We detected the expression of PD-L1 and CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ TILs in 107 patients with HGSOC by immunohistochemical analysis. Using a 5% threshold, 24.30% and 15.89% cases were found with positive expression of PD-L1 in the membrane of tumor cells and TILs respectively. ⋯ Our results indicate that tumor PD-L1 expression in combination with intraepithelial CD8+ TILs infiltration has prognostic impact in patients with HGSOC. These biomarkers may be useful for the stratification of patients. Further evaluation of PD-1/PD-L1 as therapeutic targets for HGSOC is warranted.