Department of Pathology, Shizuoka Children's Hospital, Shizuoka, 420-8660, Japan; Clinical Research Center, National Hospital Organization Nagoya Medical Center, Nagoya, 460-0001, Japan; Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Research, National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, 157-8535, Japan.
Department of Clinical Research, Saitama Children's Medical Center, Saitama, 330-8777, Japan.
Hum Pathol. 2021 Oct;116:112-121. doi: 10.1016/j.humpath.2021.07.011. Epub 2021 Aug 4.
Programmed cell death 1/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) blockade is a promising therapy for hematological malignancies. However, the association of PD-L1 expression with the clinicopathological features and prognosis in pediatric ALK-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) remains unclear. Using PD-L1/ALK immunofluorescence double staining, we evaluated the PD-L1 expression on tumor cells/tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs) and the quantity of TIICs in 54 children with ALK-positive ALCL treated with the ALCL99 protocol. The percentages of PD-L1-positive tumor cells were significantly lower in patients with skin/mediastinum involvement, clinical high-risk group, present minimal disseminated disease (MDD), and a low ALK-antibody titer. The percentages of PD-L1-positive TIICs were significantly higher in patients with absent MDD. The percentages of TIICs were significantly lower in patients with absent MDD and a common morphological pattern. We classified patients according to the PD-L1 expression on tumor cells (Tumor-PD-L1), PD-L1 expression on TIICs (TIIC-PD-L1), and quantity of TIICs (TIIC-quantity). The progression-free survival (PFS) did not differ between Tumor-PD-L1 and Tumor-PD-L1 ALCL; TIIC-PD-L1 and TIIC-PD-L1 ALCL; and TIIC-quantity and TIIC-quantity ALCL. According to the combined parameters of Tumor-PD-L1 and TIIC-quantity, Tumor-PD-L1/TIIC-quantity ALCL had a worse 5-year PFS than other ALCL (50% versus 83%; P = .009). Tumor-PD-L1/TIIC-quantity ALCL remained a significant prognostic factor in multivariate analysis (P = .044). This is the first study to demonstrate that a high tumoral PD-L1 expression with a high quantity of TIICs was associated with a poor prognosis in pediatric ALK-positive ALCL. The tumor microenvironment of ALK-positive ALCL may be relevant to the clinicopathological features and prognosis.
程序性细胞死亡 1/程序性死亡配体 1(PD-1/PD-L1)阻断是血液恶性肿瘤的一种有前途的治疗方法。然而,PD-L1 表达与儿科间变性大细胞淋巴瘤(ALK+ ALCL)的临床病理特征和预后的关系尚不清楚。本研究采用 PD-L1/ALK 免疫荧光双重染色,评估了 54 例接受 ALCL99 方案治疗的 ALK+ ALCL 患儿肿瘤细胞/肿瘤浸润免疫细胞(TIIC)的 PD-L1 表达和 TIIC 数量。结果显示,皮肤/纵隔受累、临床高危组、存在微小播散性疾病(MDD)和低 ALK 抗体滴度的患者肿瘤细胞 PD-L1 阳性率显著较低;无 MDD 的患者 TIICs PD-L1 阳性率显著较高;无 MDD 和常见形态学模式的患者 TIICs 数量显著较低。本研究根据肿瘤细胞 PD-L1 表达(Tumor-PD-L1)、TIICs PD-L1 表达(TIIC-PD-L1)和 TIIC 数量(TIIC-quantity)对患者进行分类。Tumor-PD-L1 和 Tumor-PD-L1 ALCL、TIIC-PD-L1 和 TIIC-PD-L1 ALCL 以及 TIIC-quantity 和 TIIC-quantity ALCL 之间的无进展生存期(PFS)无差异。根据 Tumor-PD-L1 和 TIIC-quantity 的联合参数,Tumor-PD-L1/TIIC-quantity ALCL 的 5 年 PFS 较其他 ALCL 更差(50%比 83%;P=0.009)。多因素分析显示,Tumor-PD-L1/TIIC-quantity ALCL 是独立的预后因素(P=0.044)。这是第一项研究表明,肿瘤 PD-L1 高表达伴 TIIC 数量高与儿科 ALK+ ALCL 的不良预后相关。ALK+ ALCL 的肿瘤微环境可能与临床病理特征和预后相关。