Discrepancy in programmed cell death-ligand 1 between primary and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the discordance in the programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression between primary and metastatic tumors and analyze the association between the discordance and the clinical factors in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Patients and Methods: Twenty-one NSCLC patients who underwent surgery or biopsy for paired primary and metastatic lesions at our Institution from 2005 to 2016 were analyzed. Lesions with the PD-L1 expression being 5% were considered PD-L1-positive. Results: The metastatic sites included the brain (n=16), adrenal gland (n=3), spleen (n=1) and jejunum (n=1). Negative conversion of the primary PD-L1-positive NSCLC and positive conversion of the primary PD-L1-negative NSCLC were observed in 3 (14%) and 2 (10%) cases, respectively. Radiotherapy for the metastatic brain lesion before its resection showed a significant relationship with the positive conversion of the primary PD-L1-negative NSCLC (p=0.048). Conclusion: Radiotherapy-derived effects may contribute to the positive conversion of the primary PD-L1-negative NSCLC.