Journal
GYNECOLOGIC ONCOLOGY
Volume 145, Issue 3, Pages 446-452Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2017.03.006
Keywords
Endometrial carcinoma; Immune checkpoint inhibition; PD-L1 over-expression; B7-H4 expression
Categories
Funding
- Advanced Medical Research Foundation
- Vincent Memorial Research Funds
- Jounce Therapeutics, Inc.
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Background. The objective of this investigation was to characterize the expression landscape of immune regulatory molecules programmed death-ligand-1 (PD-L1, B7-H1) and B7-H4 in a cohort of endometrial tumors across the spectrum of grade and histology. Materials and methods. With institutional review board approval, 70 endometrial tumors from patients with known clinical outcomes were identified representing a spectrum of grade and histology. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed for PD-L1 and B7-H4 and scored. Microsatellite instability (MSI) status was assessed for endometrioid tumors using the institutional IHC assay for expression of the mismatch repair (MMR) genes, MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 and PMS2. RNA sequencing data from the Cancer Genome Atlas was queried for expression levels of CD274 (PD-L1 protein) and VTCN1 (B7-H4) across molecular subtypes of endometrial carcinoma and were correlated with a T cell infiltration index. Results. We identified 40 low grade endometrioid tumors and a cohort of 30 high grade tumors. PD-L1 expression was observed in both high and low grade endometrial tumors (56% vs 35%, p = 0.07). In the low grade tumors, PD-L1 expression was associated with MSI status (p < 0.01). The high grade cohort had similar rates of PD-L1 expression compared to low grade MSI tumor (56% and 62% respectively), and both were distinct from low grade MSS tumors.(22%, p < 0.05). High (3+) B7-H4 positive cells were observed in both high and low grade carcinomas (33% and 31% respectively). RNA profiling data from confirmed highest CD274 expression in POLE and MSI tumors that was linearly correlated with T cell infiltration, while VTCN1 expression appeared consistent across molecular subtypes. Conclusions. While PD-L1 expression correlated with MSI and high grade tumors, B7-H4 expression was independent of grade, histology and immune cell infiltration. The development and testing of multi-agent therapeutics targeting PD-L1 and B7-H4 may be a novel strategy for endometrial tumors. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.
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