title: High PD-L1 Expression Correlates with Metastasis and Poor Prognosis in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.
abstract: PD-L1 has been widely demonstrated to contribute to failed antitumor immunity. Blockade of PD-L1 with monoclonal antibody could modulate the tumor immune environment to augment immunotherapy. PD-L1 expression is also detected in several types of cancer and is associated with poor prognosis. However, the prognostic role of PD-L1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is still controversial. Our aim was to determine the role of PD-L1 in the prognosis of OSCC patients to identify its potential therapeutic relevance. PD-L1 immunoreactivity was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in 305 cancer specimens from primary OSCC patients. The medium follow-up time after surgery was 3.8 years (range from 0.1 to 11.1 years). The prognostic value of PD-L1 on overall survival was determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazard models. Higher PD-L1 expression is more likely in tumor tissues of female than male OSCC patients (P = 0.0062). Patients with distant metastasis also had high PD-L1 expression (P = 0.0103). Multivariate analysis identified high PD-L1 expression as an independent risk factor in males and smokers (males: hazard ratio = 1.556, P = 0.0077; smokers: hazard ratio = 2.058, P = 0.0004). We suggest that PD-L1 expression, determined by IHC staining, could be an independent prognostic marker for OSCC patients who are male or who have a smoking habit.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Pathology, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.|School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.|Department of Medical Technology, Jen-Teh Junior College of Medicine, Nursing and Management, Miaoli, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yueh-Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.|Department of Medical Technology, Jen-Teh Junior College of Medicine, Nursing and Management, Miaoli, Taiwan.|Department of Medical Education, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wen-Wei
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Center, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.|School of Optometry, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.|Institute of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ming-Ju
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shih-Chen
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Division of General Surgery, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.|School of Medicine, National Yang Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hung-Wen
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, College of Public Health and Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shu-Mei
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Pathology, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ko-Hong
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Mu-Kuan
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Huei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Pathology, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.|School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kun-Tu
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Pathology, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.|School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.|Department of Medical Technology, Jen-Teh Junior College of Medicine, Nursing and Management, Miaoli, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chih-Jung
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D060890:B7-H1 Antigen / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking
chemical_list: D060890:B7-H1 Antigen; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C423236:CD274 protein, human