biostudies-literatureZhang YScience and Technology Commission of Shanghai MunicipalityNational Natural Science Foundation of China101537https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9483785biostudies-literatureUnknown26<h4>Background</h4>Our preclinical research reveals that radiotherapy (RT) promoted PD-L1 upregulation in tumor tissues and that higher PD-L1 after RT worsened the prognosis through immunosuppression. We sought to validate our experimental results in clinical cohorts and promote clinical application.<h4>Patients and methods</h4>In cohort 1, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples were obtained from 46 HCC patients, 23 of whom received preoperative RT and the other 23 received direct surgery. A prospectively collected database contained 122 HCC patients treated with liver RT were enrolled in cohort 2. Blood samples were taken a day before and two weeks after RT. Patients in cohort 2 were further divided into two groups, exploration (73 patients) and validation (49 patients) groups.<h4>ResuTranslational oncologyHigher serum sPD-L1 levels after radiotherapy indicate poor outcome in hepatocellular carcinoma patients.PMC94837858207347920ZR1410600Li ZHu YDu SZhang YYang PZeng ZChen YfalseHigher serum sPD-L1 levels after radiotherapy indicate poor outcome in hepatocellular carcinoma patients.<h4>Background</h4>Our preclinical research reveals that radiotherapy (RT) promoted PD-L1 upregulation in tumor tissues and that higher PD-L1 after RT worsened the prognosis through immunosuppression. We sought to validate our experimental results in clinical cohorts and promote clinical application.<h4>Patients and methods</h4>In cohort 1, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples were obtained from 46 HCC patients, 23 of whom received preoperative RT and the other 23 received direct surgery. A prospectively collected database contained 122 HCC patients treated with liver RT were enrolled in cohort 2. Blood samples were taken a day before and two weeks after RT. Patients in cohort 2 were further divided into two groups, exploration (73 patients) and validation (49 patients) groups.<h4>Resu2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Dec2025-04-26T05:30:04.839Z2025-04-06T11:28:37.91ZS-EPMC94837853611507510.1016/j.tranon.2022.101537