DOI: 10.4103/jcot.jcot_4_26 ISSN: 3050-5763

Clinicopathological Evaluation of PD-L1 by Immunohistochemistry in Thyroid Carcinoma: A Prospective Tertiary Care Study

Sumit V. Kale, Trisha Choudhury, Ranita Pal, Diya Roy, Jayanta Chakrabarti, Aniruddha Dam, Srabanti Hazra, Vilas D. Nasare
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Abstract

Context:

Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is an immune checkpoint molecule involved in tumor immune evasion and is a potential biomarker in thyroid carcinoma.

Aims:

To evaluate PD-L1 expression and its association with clinicopathological parameters and Ki-67 index.

Settings and Design:

This hospital-based study was conducted in the Department of Pathology at Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute. A total of 63 histopathologically confirmed cases of thyroid carcinoma were enrolled during the study period from September 2022 to May 2024.

Materials and Methods:

Immunohistochemistry for PD-L1 and Ki-67 was performed. PD-L1 was assessed using Tumor Proportion Score, and Ki-67 was reported as percentage positivity. Statistical analysis included the chi-square and Pearson correlation tests.

Results:

Females predominated (79.4%), with papillary thyroid carcinoma as the most common subtype (68.3%). PD-L1 expression was significantly higher in aggressive subtypes (anaplastic thyroid carcinoma and poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma) ( P < 0.0001). Significant associations were observed with a higher Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System category ( P < 0.0001) and nodal metastasis ( P = 0.0160). PD-L1 showed a positive correlation with Ki-67 ( r = 0.827) and nodal status ( r = 0.796) and a negative correlation with age ( r = −0.655) and tumor size ( r = −0.371). The tumor stage showed no significant association.

Conclusion:

PD-L1 expression correlates with aggressive features, metastasis, and proliferation in thyroid carcinoma, suggesting its role as a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target.

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