%0 Journal Article
%T Association of PD-L1 and HIF-1¦Á Coexpression with Poor Prognosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
%A George G. Chen
%A Guoliang Pi
%A Han-Hua Dong
%A Li-ping Liu
%A Sheng-li Yang
%A Xiaomeng Dai
%J Archive of "Translational Oncology".
%D 2018
%R 10.1016/j.tranon.2018.02.014
%X OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between the expression of PD-L1 and HIF-1¦Á in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissue and further analyze the association with clinical parameters and the prognostic value of coexpression in HCC patients. METHODS: We assessed the expression of PD-L1 and HIF-1¦Á by immunohistochemistry in tumor tissue from 90 HCC patients who underwent curative hepatectomy. The results were validated in an independent cohort of additional 90 HCC patients. RESULTS: PD-L1 and HIF-1¦Á exhibited in tumor tissue high expression rates of 41.11% (37/90) and 43.33% (43/90), respectively, and their expressions were positively correlated (r = 0.563, P < .01). High expression of PD-L1 was significantly associated with low albumin levels (P < .05); high expression of HIF-1¦Á was significantly correlated with high alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels and low albumin levels (P < .05); high expression of both PD-L1 and HIF-1¦Á was also significantly associated with high AFP levels and low albumin levels (P < .05). High expression of PD-L1, HIF-1¦Á, as well as both PD-L1 and HIF-1 ¦Á was respectively significantly associated with worse overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) (P < .05). Patients with co-overexpression of PD-L1 and HIF-1¦Á had the worst prognosis compared with other groups. Additionally, multivariate Cox regression models suggested that high expression of PD-L1, HIF-1¦Á, as well as both PD-L1 and HIF-1¦Á was an independent prognostic factor for OS and DFS (P < .05). Furthermore, the positive correlation and prognostic values of PD-L1 and HIF-1¦Á were validated in an independent data set. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that HCC patients with co-overexpression of PD-L1 and HIF-1¦Á in tumor tissue had a significantly higher risk of recurrence or metastasis and death compared with others. Therefore, more frequent follow-up is needed for patients with co-overexpression of PD-L1 and HIF-1¦Á. At the same time, a combinational therapy with HIF-1¦Á inhibitors in conjunction with PD-L1 blockade may be beneficial for HCC patients with co-overexpression in the future
%U https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5884219/