KITAHARA Shuji    Department   Graduate School of Medical Science, Graduate School of Medical Science    Position   Associate Professor (Fixed Term)
Article types	Original article
Language	English
Peer review	Peer reviewed
Title	Soluble PD-L1 as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in resectable gastric cancer patients.
Journal	Formal name：Gastric cancer : official journal of the International Gastric Cancer Association and the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association Abbreviation：Gastric Cancer ISSN code：14363305/14363291
Domestic / Foregin	Foregin
Volume, Issue, Page	26(6),pp.934-946
International coauthorship	International coauthorship
Author and coauthor	Chivu-Economescu Mihaela, Herlea Vlad, Dima Simona, Sorop Andrei, Pechianu Catalin, Procop Alexandru, Kitahara Shuji, Necula Laura, Matei Lilia, Dragu Denisa, Neagu Ana-Iulia, Bleotu Coralia, Diaconu Carmen C, Popescu Irinel, Duda Dan G
Publication date	2023/11
Summary	BACKGROUND:In this study, we compared programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in primary tissue samples and its soluble form (sPD-L1) concentration in matched preoperative plasma samples from gastric cancer patients to understand the relationship between tissue and plasma PD-L1 expression and to determine its diagnostic and prognostic value.METHODS:PD-L1 expression in tissue was assessed by immunohistochemistry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and sPD-L1 concentration in plasma was quantified by ELISA. The levels of the CD274 gene, which encodes for PD-L1 protein, were examined as part of bulk tissue RNA-sequencing analyses. Additionally, we evaluated the association between sPD-L1 levels and various laboratory parameters, disease characteristics, and patient outcomes.RESULTS:GC patients had significantly higher levels of sPD-L1 in their plasma (71.69 pg/mL) compared to healthy controls (35.34 pg/mL) (p < 0.0001). Moreover, sPD-L1 levels were significantly correlated with tissue PD-L1 protein, CD274 mRNA expression, larger tumor size, advanced tumor stage, and lymph node metastasis. Elevated sPD-L1 levels (> 103.5 ng/mL) were associated with poor overall survival (HR = 2.16, 95%CI 1.15-4.08, p = 0.017). Furthermore, intratumoral neutrophil and dendritic cell levels were directly correlated with plasma sPD-L1 concentration in the GC patients.CONCLUSIONS:sPD-L1 was readily measurable in GC patients, and its level was associated with GC tissue PD-L1 expression, greater inflammatory cell infiltration, disease progression, and survival. Thus, sPD-L1 may be a useful minimally invasive diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in GC patients.
DOI	10.1007/s10120-023-01429-7
PMID	37668884