Clinicopathological and Prognostic Value of PD-L1 in Renal Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

enal cell carcinoma is considered the seventh most common form of neoplasm in the developed world. It is currently being viewed as a group of heterogenous tumors. The expression of PDL-1 is currently being investigated as an important prognostic and predictive biomarker; however, it is still not validated alone determining which patients should be offered PD-1/L1 blockade therapy. In our study we aimed at identifying PD-L1 expression among our population and to correlate it with clinicopathological factors and survival outcomes. PDL1 positivity in TILs and not in tumor cells were significantly associated with more aggressive features, and higher stage. Whereas no association was found with DFS, PFS, or OS. These data suggest that PD-L1 expression of TILs in RCC tumors contributes to cancer aggressiveness. This suggests that there may be strong variability in PD-L1 expression among different populations. Different techniques and other markers may be needed to identify patients who may benefit from immunotherapy.