title: Comprehensive screening for PD-L1 expression in thyroid cancer.
abstract: PD-L1 expression is being considered a potential biomarker for response of anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 agents in various tumors. The reported frequency of PD-L1 positivity varies in thyroid carcinomas, and multiple factors may contribute to the variability in PD-L1 positivity. We evaluated the PD-L1 expression in various thyroid cancers on a large scale. A total of 407 primary thyroid cancers with a median 13.7-year of follow-up were included. We evaluated the frequency of PD-L1 expression using a rabbit monoclonal antibody (clone SP142). In addition, we analyzed the relationships between PD-L1 expression and clinicopathologic factors, including TERT promoter, BRAF status and disease progression. Tumoral PD-L1 was expressed in 6.1% of papillary thyroid carcinomas, 7.6% of follicular thyroid carcinomas and 22.2% of anaplastic thyroid carcinomas. The distribution of PD-L1 positivity was different according to cancer histology types (P < 0.001). All PD-L1-positive cases of follicular thyroid carcinoma and anaplastic thyroid carcinoma showed strong intensity. The proportions of positivity in PD-L1 positive anaplastic thyroid carcinomas were more than 80%. PD-L1 in immune cells was positive in 28.5% of papillary thyroid carcinoma, 9.1% of follicular thyroid carcinomas and 11.1% of anaplastic thyroid carcinomas. There was no significant association between clinicopathologic variables, disease progression, oncogenic mutation and PD-L1 expression. PD-L1 was highly expressed in a subset of patients with advanced thyroid cancer, such as follicular and anaplastic thyroid carcinoma. Identification of PD-L1 expression may have direct therapeutic relevance to patients with refractory thyroid cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of PathologyEwha Womans University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Soomin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology and MetabolismDepartment of Medicine, Thyroid Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Tae Hyuk
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology and MetabolismDepartment of Medicine, Thyroid Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sun Wook
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and GeneticsSamsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Chang Seok
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Ki
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical EducationSungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hye Won
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: Division of Breast and Endocrine SurgeryDepartment of Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jee Soo
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Breast and Endocrine SurgeryDepartment of Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jung Han
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Breast and Endocrine SurgeryDepartment of Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jun-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Choe
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Center for Imaging ScienceSamsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jung Hee
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Center for Imaging ScienceSamsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Soo Yeon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Translational genomicsSungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea bijou@skku.edu thyroid@skku.edu.
authors.forename: Young Lyun
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology and MetabolismDepartment of Medicine, Thyroid Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea bijou@skku.edu thyroid@skku.edu.
authors.forename: Jae Hoon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D018263:Adenocarcinoma, Follicular / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D060890:B7-H1 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism*; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D048493:Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf / Q000235:genetics; D019098:Telomerase / Q000235:genetics; D000077273:Thyroid Cancer, Papillary; D065646:Thyroid Carcinoma, Anaplastic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D060890:B7-H1 Antigen; C423236:CD274 protein, human; C482119:BRAF protein, human; D048493:Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf; C509186:TERT protein, human; D019098:Telomerase
keywords: PD1; PDL1; TERT; anaplastic carcinoma; thyroid