title: PD-L1 expression is associated with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
abstract: Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-associated mortalities worldwide. Novel immunotherapies have been developed to improve the clinical outcomes of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Antibodies against programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and programmed cell death protein 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) have been tested in clinical trials, and anti-PD-1 antibody has been approved for the treatment of NSCLC. The aim of the present study was to assess expression of PD-1, PD-L1 and programmed cell death protein 1 ligand 2 (PD-L2) in 48 patients with NSCLC, using immunohistochemical staining. The results found that 35.4% (17/48) of patients were positive for PD-1 expression, 64.6% (31/48) were positive for PD-L1 expression and 45.8% (22/48) were positive for PD-L2 expression. Neither PD-1 nor PD-L2 expression was associated with gender, histology, differentiation status, tumor stage or lymph node metastasis. PD-L1 expression was not associated with gender, histology, differentiation status or lymph node metastasis; however, PD-L1 expression was significantly increased in stage III NSCLC (85.7% PD-L1+) compared with stage I/II NSCLC (55.9% PD-L1+) (P=0.049).
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050017, P.R. China; Department of Thoracic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, Hebei 063000, P.R. China; Department of Structural and Cellular Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
authors.forename: Zhiquan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Structural and Cellular Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA; Department of Thoracic Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, P.R. China; Western China Collaborative Innovation Center for Early Diagnosis and Multidisciplinary Therapy of Lung Cancer, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jiandong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mei
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, P.R. China; Western China Collaborative Innovation Center for Early Diagnosis and Multidisciplinary Therapy of Lung Cancer, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lunxu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, Hebei 063000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Guochen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, Hebei 063000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zuosheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, Hebei 063000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jingpu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: Department of Structural and Cellular Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
authors.forename: Qiuyang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Structural and Cellular Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
authors.forename: Zongbing
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: You
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050017, P.R. China; Department of Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, Hebei 063000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Liu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
keywords: immunohistochemistry; lung cancer; programmed cell death protein 1; programmed cell death protein 1 ligand 1; programmed cell death protein 1 ligand 2