Association between radiotherapy-induced alteration of programmed death ligand 1 and survival in patients with uterine cervical cancer undergoing preoperative radiotherapy

Purpose To evaluate radiotherapy-induced changes in the expression of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1), programmed death 1 (PD-1), and human leukocyte antigen class I (HLA-1) in patients with uterine cervical cancer, as well as infiltration of CD8+ and Forkhead box P3+ (FoxP3+) T lymphocytes into tumor tissue and the prognostic value of these parameters. Materials and methods We performed immunohistochemical analysis of pre-radiotherapy biopsies and corresponding post-radiotherapy resected tissues in 104 uterine cervical cancer patients undergoing preoperative chemoradiotherapy or radiotherapy alone. We scored the expression of various proteins to distinguish positive from negative samples. Results PD-L1-expressing tumor cells (PD-L1 TC) increased significantly after chemoradiotherapy ( p = 0.043). CD8+ T cell infiltration ( p = 0.002) and FoxP3+ T cell infiltration ( p = 0.003) decreased significantly after chemoradiotherapy. Expression of PD‑1, PD-L1-expressing immune cells (PD-L1 IC), and HLA‑1 did not change after chemoradiotherapy. In biopsy specimens obtained before chemoradiotherapy or radiotherapy, greater infiltration of CD8+ T cells ( p = 0.001) and FoxP3+ T cells ( p = 0.003) were significant predictors of better overall survival (OS). In surgical specimens obtained after chemoradiotherapy or radiotherapy, greater infiltration of PD-L1 TC was the only significant predictor of better OS ( p < 0.001) and was related to a significantly lower probability of out-of-field recurrence ( p = 0.005). Conclusion Chemoradiotherapy induced an immunologic shift that increased PD-L1 TC. Chemoradiotherapy has immunological effects that can influence the results of treatment for uterine cervical cancer.