Work

Expression of PD-L1, PD-L2, and inflammatory gene expression profile in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Background The tumor immune microenvironment in cancer treatment response and resistance is of increasing interest. This retrospective study characterized and investigated programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), PD-L2, and the immune gene expression signature and their association with clinical outcomes in locoregionally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LA HNSCC). Patients and methods PD-L1 and PD-L2 expression on tumor and immune-infiltrating cells (positivity defined as combined positive score or immunohistochemistry proportion score >1) and T-cell-inflamed gene expression profile (Tcell inf GEP) were evaluated in patients with LA HNSCC treated in South Korea from 2000 to 2015. Correlations among the three biomarkers and their associations with overall survival and recurrence-free survival were assessed. Results Among 366 patients, 38.8% had human papillomavirus-positive disease. PD-L1-positive, PD-L2-positive, and high Tcell inf GEP (≤−0.162) status were observed in 83.6%, 85.4%, and 73.2% of patients, respectively; 4.1% were posttreatment samples. Correlation between PD-L1 and PD-L2 scores was moderate ( r Spearman = 0.50), and each biomarker was slightly less correlated with Tcell inf GEP (0.41-0.45). PD-L1 expression and high Tcell inf GEP status were associated with human papillomavirus positivity. Higher levels of all biomarkers were observed in oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers compared with other HNSCC sites. In a multivariable analysis that simultaneously adjusted for all three biomarkers, only high Tcell inf GEP was significantly associated with longer overall survival (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.57; 95% confidence interval 0.33-0.98) and recurrence-free survival (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.41; 95% confidence interval 0.23-0.74). Conclusion High Tcell inf GEP status, but not PD-L1 or PD-L2 expression, was independently associated with longer survival in patients with LA HNSCC. Results may have implications for evaluating therapies targeting programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in HNSCC.

Source: ESMO Open

DOI: 10.1016/j.esmoop.2024.103961