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expressed, PD-L1 was up-regulated in NSCLC compared with the adjacent tissues. CD8+ TILs could be seen in tumor stroma and nest. With univariate analysis, we found that the down-expression of… Click to show full abstract
expressed, PD-L1 was up-regulated in NSCLC compared with the adjacent tissues. CD8+ TILs could be seen in tumor stroma and nest. With univariate analysis, we found that the down-expression of MHC-I had an association with poor relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) in NSCLC patients (P 1⁄4 0.007 and P 1⁄4 0.001). RFS and OS in PD-L1 group tended to be longer than that of PD-L1+ group, but the difference was not significant (P > 0.05). Based on the distribution of CD8+ TILs, patients were divided into three groups: immune-inflamed group, immune-excluded group and immune-desert group. RFS and OS of patients with the immune-inflamed phenotype (CD8) were longer than patients with the immune-excluded and immune-desert phenotype (CD8 ) (P 1⁄4 0.013 and P 1⁄4 0.015). Besides, patients were divided into four subgroups based on the PD-L1 and CD8+ TILs expression: PD-L1+/CD8, PD-L1+/CD8, PD-L1 /CD8, and PD-L1 /CD8. Statistical differences were achieved both in RFS and OS (P 1⁄4 0.012 and P 1⁄4 0.032). RFS and OS in patients with PD-L1+/CD8andPD-L1 /CD8 were longer than patients with PD-L1+/CD8 andPD-L1 / CD8. Patients with PD-L1+/CD8 experienced the worst RFS and OS. With multivariate analysis, we found that MHC-I and CD8+ TILs might be independent prognostic factors in surgically resected NSCLC. Conclusion: MHC-I and CD8+ TILs expression had a close association with patients prognosis in this study. The combination of PD-L1 and CD8+ TILs, instead of PD-L1 alone, suggested impressive prognostic values in NSCLC patients. It worth further study to confirm the clinical value of MHC-I, PD-L1 and CD8 TILs expressions in the patients with surgically resected NSCLC.