Programmed death-ligand 1 is upregulated in intrahepatic lymphoepithelioma-like cholangiocarcinoma.
Intrahepatic lymphoepithelioma-like cholangiocarcinoma (LELCC) is a rare variant of cholangiocarcinoma. Here, we report the largest single series of LELCC cases yet studied (n = 13). We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of the 13 patients and measured the expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in tumors using immunohistochemical staining. We also analyzed 15 cases of conventional intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHCC) for comparison. We found that eight patients with LELCC were infected with Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), and EBV infection correlated with poor prognosis in LELCC. Four patients among the five (80.0%) without EBV had a history of chronic viral hepatitis B. None of the 15 cases of conventional cholangiocarcinoma were positive for EBV. PD-L1 was expressed in both the tumor cells and tumor-infiltrating immune cells in LELCC patients at higher levels than in IHCC patients (P < 0.05). These observations suggest that EBV infection may promote the development of LELCC, and that PD-L1 may be a potential therapeutic target for treatment of EBV-associated LELCC.
Department of Pathology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, 200032, China.|Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
Lei
L
Wang
Department of Pathology, Shanghai Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, 200438, China.
Hui
H
Dong
Department of Pathology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, 200032, China.|Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
Shujuan
S
Ni
Department of Pathology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, 200032, China.|Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
Dan
D
Huang
Department of Pathology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, 200032, China.|Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
Cong
C
Tan
Department of Pathology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, 200032, China.|Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
Bin
B
Chang
Department of Pathology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, 200032, China.|Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
Weiqi
W
Sheng
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D060890:B7-H1 Antigen / Q000032:analysis*; D001650:Bile Duct Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D018281:Cholangiocarcinoma / Q000737:chemistry / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015854:Up-Regulation
D060890:B7-H1 Antigen; C423236:CD274 protein, human
PD-L1; clinical outcomes; clinicopathological characteristics; intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma; intrahepatic lymphoepithelioma-like cholangiocarcinoma