Evaluation of PD1 and PD-L1 expression in high-grade sarcomas of the limbs in the adults: possible implications of immunotherapy

Abstract

Sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of rare tumours. Improvements in immunotherapy and the important role of PD1 and PD-L1 expression in advancement and prognosis have opened new fields of research for the treatment of these neoplasia. We evaluated the immunohistochemistry of PD1 and PD-L1 expression in 60 adults' patients affected by high-grade sarcomas of the limbs. PD1 expression was 65% while PD-L1 was 68.3%. PD-L1 expression seems to correlate to Ki67 in liposarcomas, fibrosarcoma's and pleomorphic sarcomas, while it does not show any correlation to chondrosarcomas, while in rhabdomyosarcomas there is a correlation but, given the small sample size, it was not possible to perform a statistic analysis. Our study shows positivity among the different subgroups of positive PD1 lymphocytes infiltration and PD-L1 expression in high-grade sarcomas of the limbs.

Keywords: PD; PD-L1; immunotherapy; programmed cell death receptor; sarcoma.