PD-L1 expression in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) as an independent predictor of prognosis in patients with pN0 bladder cancer undergoing radical cystectomy

Soluble Programmed Death-Ligand 1 (sPD-L1) as a Promising Marker for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Correlations With Clinical and Demographic Characteristics

Background and objective Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a prevalent cancer type that affects the mucosal lining of the upper aerodigestive tract. Soluble programmed death-ligand 1 (sPD-L1) is a significant factor in hindering T cells' function, which prevents cancer cells from being detected by the immune system. This means that sPD-L1 is an essential component in the immune evasion of cancer. This study aimed to explore the potential of sPD-L1 as a prognostic biomarker for patients with HNSCC undergoing concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Methodology The study included 106 patients with locally advanced HNSCC who received three courses of induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiation and 60 healthy subjects as controls. sPD-L1 levels were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit, and the cutoff value was determined based on receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results The results showed that sPD-L1 levels were significantly higher in HNSCC patients compared to healthy controls, with a cutoff value of 31.51 pg/mL. Higher sPD-L1 levels were associated with poorer overall survival rates. Conclusions These findings suggest that sPD-L1 may serve as a valuable prognostic biomarker for HNSCC patients undergoing concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The study highlights the importance of exploring new biomarkers and therapeutic strategies for HNSCC to improve patient outcomes and reduce morbidity and mortality rates associated with this disease.

Dynamic alteration and prognostic significance of tumor-associated CD68+ and CD68+ PD-L1- macrophages in muscle-invasive bladder cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy

BACKGROUND

The current study aimed to investigate the dynamic alteration and prognostic significance of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), and PD-L1 status of immune cells in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).

METHODS

Multiplex immunofluorescence staining was performed to examine CD68⁺ TAM, CD4⁺ T cell, CD8⁺ T cell, FOXP3⁺ Treg cell, and PD-L1 expression in paired MIBC tissues (n = 54) before and after NAC. Patients were then divided into definite responders (DR), (≤pT1) and incomplete responders (IR).

RESULTS

There was no significant difference between DR and IR cohorts for the immune cell infiltration levels at the baseline status. Tobacco history was identified to be associated with worse NAC efficacy. CD68⁺ (stroma area: p = 0.025; tumor area: p = 0.028; total area: p = 0.013) and CD68⁺ PD-L1^- (stroma area: p = 0.035; tumor area: p = 0.013 total area: p = 0.014) TAMs infiltration levels decreased significantly after NAC, while there was no significant difference of CD68⁺ PD-L1⁺ and TILs. The infiltration of CD68⁺ (p = 0.033), CD68⁺ PD-L1^- (p = 0.033), and CD68⁺ PD-L1⁺ (p < 0.001) TAMs in stroma area were significantly associated with poorer disease-free survival rate (DFS) of MIBC patients.

CONCLUSION

CD68⁺ and CD68⁺ PD-L1^- TAMs infiltration levels decreased significantly after NAC and pre-treatment TAM infiltration levels were independent prognostic factors for MIBC patients. While there was no sufficient evidence demonstrating that pre-treatment TILs or TAMs could predict response to NAC in MIBC patients.

Construction and prognostic value of enhanced CT image omics model for noninvasive prediction of HRG in bladder cancer based on logistic regression and support vector machine algorithm

Background

Urothelial Carcinoma of the bladder (BLCA) is the most prevalent cancer of the urinary system. In cancer patients, HRG fusion is linked to a poor prognosis. The prediction of HRG expression by imaging omics in BLCA has not yet been fully investigated.

Methods

HRG expression in BLCA and healthy adjoining tissues was primarily identified utilizing data sourced from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Landmark analysis, the relationship between HRG expression, clinicopathological parameters, and overall survival (OS) was investigated. Additionally, gene set variation analysis (GSVA) was conducted and CIBERSORTx was used to investigate the relationship between HRG expression and immune cell infiltration. The Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA) provided CT images that were used for prognostic analysis, radiomic feature extraction, and construction of the model, respectively. The HRG expression levels were predicted using the constructed and evaluated LR and SMV models.

Results

HRG expression was shown to be substantially lower in BLCA tumors as opposed to that observed in normal tissues (p < 0.05). HRG expression had a close positive relationship with Eosinophils and a close negative relationship with B cells naive. The findings of the Landmark analysis illustrated that higher HRG was associated with improved patient survival at an early stage (P=0.048). The predictive performance of the two models, based on logistic regression analysis and support vector machine, was outstanding in the training and validation sets, yielding AUCs of 0.722 and 0.708, respectively, in the SVM model, and 0.727 and 0.662, respectively, in the LR.The models have good predictive efficiency.

Conclusion

HRG expression levels can have a significant impact on BLCA patients' prognoses. The radiomic characteristics can successfully predict the pre-surgical HRG expression levels, based on CT- Image omics.

Prognostic value of programmed cell death ligand-1 expression in patients with bladder urothelial carcinoma undergoing radical cystectomy: A meta-analysis

Background

Radical cystectomy and removal of pelvic lymph nodes (RC-PLND) is a recommended treatment for high-risk non-muscle-invasive and muscle-invasive non-metastatic bladder cancer (BC). However, 50% of patients relapse after RC-PLND. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) on the prognosis of bladder urothelial carcinoma (BUC) after RC-PLND.

Methods

We present this meta-analysis according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses Guidelines. The main outcomes were overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of 3 and 5 years after RC-PLND.

Results

Overall, 11 studies and 1393 BUC cases were included in our meta-analysis. In tumor cells (TCs), the PD-L1 negative group had statistically significant advantage in 5-year OS (risk ratio [RR]: 0.85, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.74–0.97, P = 0.02), RFS (RR: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.58–0.99, P = 0.04), and CSS (RR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.58–0.92, P = 0.009) compared with the PD-L1 positive group. But, no statistically significant difference in 5-year OS and RFS was observed between the PD-L1 negative and positive groups in tumor-infiltrating immune cells.

Conclusions

Our study found that patients with BUC who tested positive for PD-L1 in TCs had a poor prognosis after RC-PLND. PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitors could be used as a adjuvant medication for patients with BUC after RC-PLND who exhibit PD-L1 overexpression in TCs.

Systematic review registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42022301424.

Expression of Membranous CD155 Is Associated with Aggressive Phenotypes and a Poor Prognosis in Patients with Bladder Cancer

Objective: To investigate the relationship between clinicopathological findings and membranous CD155 (mCD155) or cytoplasmic CD155 (cCD155) expression in bladder cancer (BC). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 103 patients with BC who underwent radical cystectomy between 1990 to 2015 at Kitasato University Hospital. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to evaluate CD155 expression in tumor cells. Cases with > 10% expression on the membrane or cytoplasm of tumor cells were positive. The Fisher′s exact test was used for categorical variables and the Kaplan−Meier method was used for survival outcomes. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression hazard models were used to evaluate the survival risk factors. Results: Cases that were mCD155-positive were associated with high-grade tumors (p = 0.02), nodal status (p < 0.01), and pT stage (p = 0.04). No association with any clinicopathological factor was observed in the cCD155 cases. Kaplan−Meier analysis showed that mCD155-positive cases had shorter periods of recurrence-free survival (p = 0.015) and cancer-specific survival (p = 0.005). Only nodal status was an independent predictor for both cancer-specific survival and recurrence-free survival in multivariate analysis (p = 0.02 and p < 0.01, respectively). Conclusion: mCD155 expression may be a marker of an aggressive phenotype and a poor prognosis in patients with BC.