Higher CD1a Levels Correlate with PD-L1 Expression and Predict Worse Overall Survival in Triple-Negative Breast Carcinoma

Jian Zheng; Yuntao Wei; Xiaoxi Li; Zhan Shen; Yong Zhang; Bo Huang; Youhong Jiang; Daqing Wang

doi:10.1159/000513502

Higher CD1a Levels Correlate with PD-L1 Expression and Predict Worse Overall Survival in Triple-Negative Breast Carcinoma

Breast Care (Basel). 2022 Feb;17(1):31-39. doi: 10.1159/000513502. Epub 2021 Mar 15.

Authors

Jian Zheng^{1

2}, Yuntao Wei³, Xiaoxi Li¹, Zhan Shen⁴, Yong Zhang⁵, Bo Huang⁵, Youhong Jiang¹, Daqing Wang⁶

Affiliations

¹ Molecular Oncology Laboratory of Cancer Research Institute, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
² Department of Thoracic Cancer, Cancer Hospital of China Medical University, Liaoning Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shenyang, China.
³ Department of Breast Surgery, Cancer Hospital of China Medical University, Liaoning Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shenyang, China.
⁴ Department of Information Management, Cancer Hospital of China Medical University, Liaoning Cancer Hospital and Insititute, Shenyang, China.
⁵ Department of Pathology, Cancer Hospital of China Medical University, Liaoning Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shenyang, China.
⁶ The People's Hospital of Liaoning Province, Shenyang, China.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to measure the expression of PD-L1, CD1a (a marker for immature dendritic cells), and CD83 (a marker for mature dendritic cells) and further examine the associations of PD-L1, CD83, and CD1a with overall survival (OS) in triple-negative breast carcinoma patients.

Methods: PD-L1, CD1a, and CD83 expression in breast carcinoma tissues and CD83 expression in lymph node tissues were examined by immunohistochemistry and tissue microarray in 159 patients. Patients were classified into the low, medium, and high PD-L1, CD1a, and CD83 levels. Pearson χ² test was used to analyze the correlations between PD-L1, CD1a, and CD83. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the OS. Multivariate analysis was used to identify determinants of 3- and 5-year OS.

Results: 25.1, 25.8, and 49.1% of the patients had low, medium, and high PD-L1 levels, respectively. PD-L1 levels significantly correlated with CD1a (r = 0.30409, p < 0.001) and CD83 levels (r = 0.6146, p < 0.001) in breast carcinoma tissue, as well as CD83 levels (r = 0.17508, p = 0.027) in lymph node. The median OS was 83 months (range 12-106), and the 3- and 5-year OS rates were 94.97% (95% CI 91.57-98.37) and 86.79% (95% CI 81.53-92.06), respectively. Moreover, patients with high median CD1a levels had a significantly lower 5-year OS rate (75.6%) than those with low median CD1a levels (93.5%, p = 0.038).

Conclusion: PD-L1, CD1a, and CD83 are variably expressed in triple-negative breast carcinoma tissues, and PD-L1 expression correlates with CD1a and CD83. Higher CD1a levels correlate with PD-L1 expression and predict worse OS in triple-negative breast carcinoma.

Keywords: CD1a; CD83; Overall survival; PD-L1; Triple-negative breast carcinoma.