Clinical and pathologic features associated with PD-L1 (SP142) expression in stromal tumor-infiltrating immune cells of triple-negative breast carcinoma Journal Article


Authors: Hoda, R. S.; Brogi, E.; Dos Anjos, C. H.; Grabenstetter, A.; Ventura, K.; Patil, S.; Selenica, P.; Weigelt, B.; Reis-Filho, J. S.; Traina, T.; Robson, M.; Norton, L.; Wen, H. Y.
Article Title: Clinical and pathologic features associated with PD-L1 (SP142) expression in stromal tumor-infiltrating immune cells of triple-negative breast carcinoma
Abstract: The Ventana PD-L1 SP142 immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay is the FDA-approved companion diagnostic assay for atezolizumab therapy selection for patients with PD-L1-positive locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast carcinoma (TNBC). We aimed to elucidate clinical, pathologic, and molecular features associated with PD-L1 expression in TNBCs. Clinical, pathologic, and next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based molecular data for TNBCs tested with PD-L1 (SP142) IHC at our institution between 11/2018 and 12/2019 were retrieved and reviewed. PD-L1 positivity was defined as ≥1% IC staining. Patients with metastatic TNBC treated at first line with atezolizumab regimens were evaluated for treatment response and for time to treatment failure (TTF). Among 156 TNBCs, PD-L1 was positive in 47.4% of cases. Primary TNBCs were significantly more frequently PD-L1 positive, compared with recurrent/metastatic samples (p = 0.002). PD-L1-positive TNBCs had increased stromal IC, compared with PD-L1-negative samples (p < 0.001). The repertoire of somatic genetic alterations of PD-L1-positive and PD-L1-negative TNBCs was similar. Matched primary and recurrent/metastatic TNBC samples were available for eight patients, in whom four had discordant results. Thirty patients with metastatic TNBC were treated with atezolizumab regimens, with treatment failure occurring in 16 patients and a median TTF of 5.1 months in this early evaluation. The findings of this study show stromal ICs in primary TNBCs are more likely to show PD-L1 positivity than in recurrent or metastatic samples. This information should guide selection of samples suitable for testing. Further studies are needed to identify other features associated with PD-L1-positive breast carcinomas and clinical benefit of treatment. © 2020, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to United States & Canadian Academy of Pathology.
Journal Title: Modern Pathology
Volume: 33
Issue: 11
ISSN: 0893-3952
Publisher: Nature Research  
Date Published: 2020-11-01
Start Page: 2221
End Page: 2232
Language: English
DOI: 10.1038/s41379-020-0606-0
PUBMED: 32612248
PROVIDER: scopus
PMCID: PMC8234788
DOI/URL:
Notes: Article -- Export Date: 2 November 2020 -- Source: Scopus
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MSK Authors
  1. Sujata Patil
    511 Patil
  2. Larry Norton
    759 Norton
  3. Mark E Robson
    681 Robson
  4. Hannah Yong Wen
    303 Wen
  5. Tiffany A Traina
    253 Traina
  6. Edi Brogi
    517 Brogi
  7. Britta Weigelt
    638 Weigelt
  8. Pier Selenica
    192 Selenica
  9. Katia Ventura
    24 Ventura
  10. Raza Syed Hoda
    10 Hoda