Immunohistochemical expression of CD8, CTLA4, and PD-L1 in NSCLC of smokers versus non smokers and its effect on prognosis

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Identifying hig- risk non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients is the most contentious area in lung pathology for reducing cancer-related morbidity and mortality. Aim of the work Was to investigate the immunohistochemical expression of CD8, CTLA4, and PD-L1 among different NSCLC histopathological variants and it’s correlation with different clinicopathological variables. Material and Methods Expression of CD8, CTLA4, & PD-L1 was evaluated immunohistochemically in 45 NSCLC cases. Results Higher expression of CD8 tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) was significantly associated with better progression-free survival (PFS). The expression of CTLA4&PD-L1 on tumor cells was significantly associated with lower PFS. However, smoking status of the studied cases showed no statistically significant correlation with expression of any of the studied immunohistochemical markers. Conclusions Immunostaining for CD8, CTLA4, and PD-L1 could have a major role in the anticipation of PFS of NSCLC cases regardless of their smoking status.