Identifying Rational Candidates for Immunotherapy Targeting PD-1/PD-L1 in Cervical Cancer

Abstract

Background/aim: To investigate the abundance of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and identify rational candidates for anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapies in cervical cancer.

Patients and methods: In 27 patients with FIGO stage IB1-IIA cervical cancer, paraffin-embedded tumors were immunohistochemically stained with PD-L1 antibody. The correlation of tumoral PD-L1 expression with clinicopathological factors and survival outcomes were evaluated.

Results: Overall, PD-L1 expression was primarily detected in 12 (44.4%) patients. All tumors with PD-L1 expression were squamous cell carcinomas (SqCC). In subgroup analysis of SqCC, higher PD-L1 expression was associated with low preoperative serum SqCC antigen level (p=0.030) and no parametrial invasion (p=0.048). The 5-year progression-free survival (83.3% vs. 50.0%. p=0.136) and overall survival rates (90.9% vs. 83.3%, p=0.615) were superior in patients with PD-L1 expression that in those without PD-L1 expression; however, neither was significant.

Conclusion: Patients with SqCC and favorable clinicopathological factors could be candidates for anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy in cervical cancer.

Keywords: Programmed death-ligand 1; cervical cancer; immunohistochemistry; squamous cell carcinoma.