Gut Liver.  2023 Nov;17(6):933-941. 10.5009/gnl220206.

The Expression of Programmed Death-Ligand 1 on Immune Cells Is Related to a Better Prognosis in Biliary Tract Cancer

• Kwon SC
• Bang S
• Park YN
• Park JH
• Kim SJ
• Jo JH
• Chung MJ
• Park JY
• Park SW
• Song SY
• Park E
• Lee HS

• KMID: 2548452
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5009/gnl220206

Abstract

Background/Aims
Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in tumor cells is associated with a poor biliary tract cancer (BTC) prognosis; tumor-infiltrating immune cells in the tumor microenvironment are associated with a better prognosis. The effect of PD-L1 expression on immune cells on survival is unclear. We investigated the relationship between PD-L1 expression in immune cells and BTC prognosis.
Methods
PD-L1 expression was evaluated using an anti-PD-L1 22C3 mouse monoclonal primary antibody, and its relationships with clinical characteristics and prognosis were analyzed using the Cox proportional hazard model to investigate the prognostic performance of PD-L1 in BTC.
Results
Among 144 analyzed cases, patients with positive PD-L1 expression in tumor cells and negative PD-L1 expression in immune cells showed poorer overall survival rates than those exhibiting other expressions (tumor cells: hazard ratio [HR]=1.023, p<0.001; immune cells: HR=0.983, p=0.021). PD-L1 expression in tumor cells was an independent predictor of poor overall survival (HR=1.024, p<0.001). In contrast, PD-L1 expression in immune cells was a predictive marker of good prognosis (HR=0.983, p=0.018).
Conclusions
PD-L1 expression in immune cells may be used as an independent factor to evaluate the prognosis of patients with BTC.

Keyword

Biliary tract neoplasms; Prognosis; Survival