Absence of PD-L1 expression on tumor cells in the context of an activated immune infiltrate may indicate impaired IFNγ signaling in non-small cell lung cancer.
Willemijn S M E TheelenThomas KuilmanKatja SchulzeWei ZouOscar KrijgsmanDennis D G C PetersSten CornelissenKim MonkhorstPranamee SarmaTeiko SumiyoshiLukas C AmlerStefan M WillemsJohannes L G BlaauwgeersCarel J M van NoeselDaniel S PeeperMichel M van den HeuvelMarcin KowanetzPublished in: PloS one (2019)
These results show that PD-L1 expression on TC and IC are both independent hallmarks of the inflamed phenotype in NSCLC, and TC-negative/IC-high tumors can also be categorized as inflamed. The lack of correlation between PD-L1 TC and IC expression in this subgroup may be caused by impaired IFNγ signaling in tumor cells. These findings may bring a better understanding of the tumor-immune system interaction and the clinical relevance of PD-L1 expression on IC irrespective of PD-L1 expression on TC.