The correlation and overlaps between PD-L1 expression and classical genomic aberrations in Chinese lung adenocarcinoma patients: a single center case series

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the correlation and overlaps between PD-L1 expression and classical genomic aberrations in Chineselung adenocarcinoma (LADC) patients.

Methods: We reviewed 428 consecutive, surgically resected cases of LADC from October 2015 to December 2016 from our center.PD-L1 expression was evaluated based on tumor proportion score (TPS). Correlation and co-occurrence of PD-L1 expression levelwith those of classical driver genes, such as EGFR, ALK, ROS-1, and KRAS and with clinical variables and disease-free survival(DFS) were analyzed.

Results: Seventy of the 428 cases (16.4%) showed TPS ≥ 1%, and 21 cases (4.9%) showed TPS ≥ 50%. PD-L1 positive expressionwas significantly associated with male gender, smoking, advanced TNM stage, and solid histologic subtype. Both TPS ≥ 1% and ≥50% were correlated with the absence of an EGFR mutation (P < 0.001) and the presence of ALK rearrangement (P = 0.024).KRAS mutation was associated with TPS ≥ 50% (P = 0.035). PD-L1 positivity commonly overlapped with the alterations ofclassical driver oncogenes (58.5% with TPS ≥ 1% and 42.9% with TPS ≥ 50%). Approximately three-quarters of PD-L1 positivecases co-occurred with classical therapeutic-gene aberrations in cases with stage III/IV cancer or cancer progression. LADC couldbe divided into four subgroups based on the expression profile of current routine biomarkers for potential therapeutic strategies.

Conclusions: PD-L1 expression is not only closely correlated with classic gene alterations but also commonly overlaps with theaberrations of classical driver oncogenes in Chinese LADC patients. These findings provide a useful overview of clinical strategiesthat rely on the profile of routinely used molecular biomarkers.

Cite this article as: Wu J, Sun W, Wang H, Huang X, Wang X, Jiang W, et al.The correlation and overlaps between PD-L1 expression and classicalgenomic aberrations in Chinese lung adenocarcinoma patients: a single centercase series. Cancer Biol Med. 2019; 16: 811-21. doi: 10.20892/j.issn.2095-3941.2019.0209