Discordance of immunotherapy response predictive biomarkers between primary lesions and paired metastases in tumours: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Yutian Zou,
Xiaoqian Hu,
Shaoquan Zheng,
Anli Yang,
Xing Li,
Hailin Tang,
Yanan Kong,
Xiaoming Xie
Affiliations
Yutian Zou
Department of Breast Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, 651 East Dongfeng Road, Guangzhou 510060, People's Republic of China
Xiaoqian Hu
School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
Shaoquan Zheng
Department of Breast Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, 651 East Dongfeng Road, Guangzhou 510060, People's Republic of China
Anli Yang
Department of Breast Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, 651 East Dongfeng Road, Guangzhou 510060, People's Republic of China
Xing Li
Department of Breast Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, 651 East Dongfeng Road, Guangzhou 510060, People's Republic of China
Hailin Tang
Department of Breast Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, 651 East Dongfeng Road, Guangzhou 510060, People's Republic of China
Yanan Kong
Department of Breast Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, 651 East Dongfeng Road, Guangzhou 510060, People's Republic of China; Corresponding authors.
Xiaoming Xie
Department of Breast Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, 651 East Dongfeng Road, Guangzhou 510060, People's Republic of China; Corresponding authors.
Background: Several biomarkers predict the efficacy of immunotherapy, which is essential for selecting patients who would potentially benefit. Discordant status of these biomarkers between primary tumours and paired metastases has been increasingly revealed. We aimed to comprehensively summarize the incidence of this phenomenon. Methods: Databases were searched to identify studies reporting primary-to-metastatic conversion of biomarkers, including programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1), programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1), PD-L2, tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL), tumour mutational burden (TMB), and microsatellite instability (MSI). Findings: 56 studies with 2739 patients were included. The pooled discordance rate of PD-L1 was 22%. The percentage of PD-L1 changed from positive to negative was 41%, whereas that from negative to positive was 16%. The discordance rate for PD-1 and PD-L2 was 26% and 22%, respectively. TIL level was found with a discordance rate of 39%, and changes from high to low (50%) occurred more than that from low to high (16%). No significant difference in TMB was observed between two sites in most studies. MSI status discordance was found in 6% patients, with a percentage of 9% from MSI-high to microsatellite instable (MSS) and 0% from MSS to MSI-high. Interpretation: Our study demonstrates that PD-L1, PD-1, PD-L2, and TIL level had high frequency of discordance, while TMB and MSI status were less likely to change between primary tumours and paired metastases. Therefore, evaluating those frequently altered biomarkers of both primary and metastatic tumours is strongly recommended for precise clinical decision of immune checkpoint treatment. Fund: The National Natural Science Foundation of China (81872152).