Cancer Management and Research (Dec 2022)
Association of Programmed Death-Ligand 1 Expression with Aggressive Histological Types of Thyroid Carcinoma
Abstract
Agnes Stephanie Harahap,1,2 Fanny Kamarudy Lay,1 Ria Kodariah,1 Fresia Juwitasari Wongkar,1 Maria Francisca Ham1,2 1Department of Anatomical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia/Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia; 2Human Cancer Research Center - Indonesian Medical Education and Research Institute, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, IndonesiaCorrespondence: Maria Francisca Ham, Email [email protected]: Immunohistochemical expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) has become a biomarker to predict the usefulness of cancer immunotherapy using PD-1/PD-L1 blockade in a variety of advanced-stage tumours. This emerging biomarker may serve to generate novel therapies for aggressive thyroid carcinoma (TC), which has not shown optimal results with existing treatments.Methods: The present study investigated the relevance of PD-L1 expression in aggressive histological types of TC compared with that found in less aggressive types. Surgically resected specimens were investigated, including 52 cases of TC consisting of 26 cases of aggressive histological types and 26 cases of less aggressive histological types. Immunohistochemical examinations were carried out on paraffin blocks of both groups using a mouse monoclonal primary antibody against PD-L1 (clone 22C3). PD-L1 expression was evaluated by calculating the tumour proportion score (TPS) in both groups.Results: The results revealed a significant difference in the median TPS value of PD-L1 expression between the two groups. The TPS values were found to be higher in the group of aggressive histological types of TC compared with those in the group of less aggressive histological types. A significant difference in TPS value was also found for the extrathyroidal extension variable.Discussion: In conclusion, the present study found a significant association between PD-L1 expression and the aggressive histological type of TC. In addition, a potential association between PD-L1 expression and the presence of extrathyroidal extension of TC was observed. These findings provide novel approaches for immunotherapy as a potential new treatment modality in patients with aggressive histological types of TC.Keywords: thyroid carcinoma, histological type, aggressive, programmed death-ligand 1
