ABSTRACT
Objective:Previous studies have shown an association between programmed death-ligand 1 expression(PD-L1)in non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC)and clinical factors and that PD-L1 is positively correlated with TNM staging.This study aimed to explore the prognostic significance of PD-L1 and its correlation with the maximum standardized uptake value(SUVmax).Methods:Clinicopath-ological data and the follow-up information of the 122 de novo primary NSCLC patients were analyzed.PD-L1 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry in this 122 surgically resected non-small cell lung carcinoma tissues.Survival outcomes were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate Cox proportional hazards model.Correlation between SUVmax and PD-L1 expression was analyzed using Spearman's rank correlation analysis.Results:Multivariate analysis revealed that PD-L1 expression(HR=4.518,95% CI:1.176-17.352,P=0.028)and tumor size(HR=1.404,95%CI:1.020-1.933,P=0.037)were independent risk factors for overall survival(OS) in early NSCLC patients.Sex,age,pathological type,CEA level,and SUVmax group had no obvious effect on OS(P 0.05)in early NSCLC patients.In univariate analyses,sex,pathological type,tumor size,and SUVmax group affected OS in stageⅢ-ⅣNSCLC patients.How-ever,age,CEA level,and PD-L1 expression had no effect on OS.PD-L1 expression was not an independent risk factor for OS in stageⅢ-ⅣNSCLC patients.The SUVmax group had no association with PD-L1 in all patients.Conclusions:PD-L1 expression is an independent risk factor for OS in early NSCLC patients but not in stageⅢ-Ⅳpatients.