Programmed Cell Death Ligand 1 Expression in Circulating Tumor Cells as a Predictor of Treatment Response in Patients with Urothelial Carcinoma

Programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors are commonly used in treating advanced-stage urothelial carcinoma (UC). Therefore, this study evaluated the relationship between PD-L1 expression in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and treatment response to PD-L1 inhibitors using blood samples collect...

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Published in:Biology (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2021-07, Vol.10 (7), p.674
Main Authors: Chiang, Pei-Jhang, Xu, Ting, Cha, Tai-Lung, Tsai, Yi-Ta, Liu, Shu-Yu, Wu, Sheng-Tang, Meng, En, Tsao, Chih-Wei, Kao, Chien-Chang, Chen, Chin-Li, Sun, Guang-Huan, Yu, Dah-Shyong, Chang, Sun-Yran, Yang, Ming-Hsin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antibodies
Apoptosis
Biomarkers
Biopsy
Blood
Cancer therapies
Cell death
circulating tumor cells
Disease control
Immunotherapy
Ligands
Medical prognosis
Metastasis
Patients
PD-L1
PD-L1 inhibitors
PD-L1 protein
Statistical analysis
Tumor cells
Tumors
Urothelial carcinoma
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Summary:Programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors are commonly used in treating advanced-stage urothelial carcinoma (UC). Therefore, this study evaluated the relationship between PD-L1 expression in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and treatment response to PD-L1 inhibitors using blood samples collected from patients with UC (n = 23). Subsequently, PD-L1 expression and its clinical correlation were analyzed. All patients had CTCs before PD-L1 inhibitory treatment, of which 15 had PD-L1-positive CTCs. However, PD-L1-positive expression in CTCs was not correlated with PD-L1 expression in tumor biopsy samples. Patients with PD-L1-positive CTCs had better disease control (DC) rates than those without PD-L1-positive CTCs. Moreover, changes in the proportion of PD-L1-positive CTCs were associated with disease outcomes. Furthermore, the PD-L1-positive CTC count in 9 of 11 patients who achieved DC had significantly decreased (p = 0.01). In four patients with progressive disease, this was higher or did not change. PD-L1-positive CTCs at baseline could be used as a biomarker to identify patients suitable for PD-L1 blockade therapy. Dynamic changes in PD-L1-positive CTCs during the course of treatment are predictive factors of immunotherapy response and prognostic factors of disease control. Hence, PD-L1-positive CTCs could be employed as a real-time molecular biomarker for individualized immunotherapy.
ISSN:2079-7737
2079-7737
DOI:10.3390/biology10070674