Relationship between programmed cell death ligand 1 expression and the number of biopsy specimens in advanced gastric cancer.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in advanced gastric cancer (AGC) exhibits spatial heterogeneity, which may lead to sampling bias during biopsies. Although multiple biopsies are believed to improve the accuracy of PD-L1 assessment, the optimal number of specimens remains uncertain. This study investigated the relationship between PD-L1 expression and biopsy specimen count in AGC.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed 110 patients with AGC who underwent first-line chemotherapy and had PD-L1 combined positive scores (CPS) assessed using the 28-8 pharmDx assay. Associations between CPS and biopsy specimen count were evaluated using chi-square or Fisher's exact test. In a subgroup of 70 human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative patients trea

SUBMITTER: Mizuno T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12238204 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature