HLA class I loss and PD-L1 expression in lung cancer: impact on T-cell infiltration and immune escape.

ABSTRACT: Immune-checkpoint inhibitors show encouraging results in cancer treatment, but the clinical benefit is limited exclusively to a subset of patients. We analyzed the density and composition of tumor T-cell infiltration in non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) in relation to PD-L1 and HLA class I (HLA-I) expression. We found that positive HLA-I expression, independently on PD-L1 status, is the key factor determining the increased density of the immune infiltrate. When both markers were analyzed simultaneously, we identified four phenotypes of HLA-I and PD-L1 co-expression. They demonstrated different patterns of tumor infiltration and clinicopathologic characteristics, including the tumor size and lymphatic spread. All HLA-I+/PD-L1+ tumors had a high degree of intratumoral infiltration with C

SUBMITTER: Perea F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5790526 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature