Refining PD-1/PD-L1 assessment for biomarker-guided immunotherapy: A review

Biomol Biomed. 2024 Jan 3;24(1):14-29. doi: 10.17305/bb.2023.9265.

Abstract

Anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 (anti-PD-L1) immunotherapy is an increasingly crucial in cancer treatment. To date, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has approved four PD-L1 immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining protocols, commercially available in the form of "kits", facilitating testing for PD-L1 expression. These kits comprise four PD-L1 antibodies on two separate IHC platforms, each utilizing distinct, non-interchangeable scoring systems. Several factors, including tumor heterogeneity and the size of the tissue specimens assessed, can lead to PD-L1 status misclassification, potentially hindering the initiation of therapy. Therefore, the development of more accurate predictive biomarkers to distinguish between responders and non-responders prior to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy warrants further research. Achieving this goal necessitates refining sampling criteria, enhancing current methods of PD-L1 detection, and deepening our understanding of the impact of additional biomarkers. In this article, we review potential solutions to improve the predictive accuracy of PD-L1 assessment in order to more precisely anticipate patients' responses to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy, monitor disease progression and predict clinical outcomes.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • B7-H1 Antigen
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung* / drug therapy
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Immunotherapy
  • Lung Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor / metabolism

Substances

  • Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor
  • B7-H1 Antigen
  • Biomarkers, Tumor