# PD-L1 expression on immune cells, but not on tumor cells, is a favorable prognostic factor for head and neck cancer patients

Article · Kim HR, Ha SJ, Hong MH, Heo SJ, Koh YW, Choi EC, Kim EK, Pyo KH, Jung I, Seo D, Choi J, Cho BC, Yoon SO

- Archive id: doi:10.1038/srep36956
- Published: 2016-11-14
- Venue: Scientific reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep36956
- PMID: 27841362
- PMCID: PMC5107906
- Citations: 215
- Source URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep36956
- PDF: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5107906/pdf
- Provenance: europepmc

## Abstract

To investigate the expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and immune checkpoints and their prognostic value for resected head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC). PD-L1 expression on tumor cells (TC) and tumor-infiltrating immune cells (IC), abundance of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), and expression of the immune checkpoints were investigated in 402 HNSCC patients. PD-L1 expression on TC and IC was categorized into four groups according to the percentage of PD-L1-positive cells. PD-L1 positivity was defined as ≥5% of cells based on immunohistochemistry. High PD-L1 expression on IC, but not TC, was an independent favorable prognostic factor for RFS and OS adjusted for age, gender, smoking, stage, and HPV. High frequencies of CD3 + or CD8 + TILs, Foxp3 + T reg s, and PD-1 + TILs were strongly associated with favorable prognosis. PD-L1 was exclusively expressed on either TC or IC. Transcriptome analysis demonstrated that IC3 expressed higher levels of the effector T cell markers than TC3, suggesting that PD-L1 expression is regulated via an adaptive IFNγ-mediated mechanism. High PD-L1 expression on IC, but not TC, and high abundance of PD-1 + T cells and Foxp3 + T reg s are favorable prognostic factors for resected HNSCC. This study highlights the importance of comprehensive assessment of both TC and IC.

_Abstract reproduced under CC-BY (article license as recorded by Europe PMC; abstract reproduced unmodified apart from markup removal)._

Topics: [Cancer Immunotherapy](https://space-kitty.com/topics/cancer-immunotherapy)

---
Space Kitty Archive · https://space-kitty.com · API: https://space-kitty.com/api/v1 · MCP: https://space-kitty.com/mcp · Premium: $0.20/request via x402 (Base Sepolia (testnet)). Metadata: arXiv (CC0), OpenAlex (CC0), Europe PMC (CC BY/CC0 works), ClinicalTrials.gov.