Detection of PD-L1 in circulating tumor cells and white blood cells from patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Background: Expression of PD-L1 in tumor cells and tumor-infiltrating immune cells has been associated with improved efficacy to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in patients with advanced-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and emerged as a potential biomarker for the selection of patients to cancer immunotherapies. We investigated the utility of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and circulating white blood cells (WBCs) as a noninvasive method to evaluate PD-L1 status in advanced NSCLC patients. Patients and methods: CTCs and circulating WBCs were enriched from peripheral blood samples (ISET® platform; Rarecells) from 106 NSCLC patients. PD-L1 expression on ISET filters and matched-tumor tissue was evaluated by automated immunostaining (SP142 antibody; Ventana), and quantified in tumor cells and WBCs. Results: CTCs were detected in 80 (75%) patients, with levels ranging from 2 to 256 CTCs/4 ml, and median of 60 CTCs/4 ml. Among 71 evaluable samples with matched-tissue and CTCs, 6 patients (8%) showed ≥1 PD-L1-positive CTCs and 11 patients (15%) showed ≥1% PD-L1-positive tumor cells in tumor tissue with 93% concordance between tissue and CTCs (sensitivity = 55%; specificity = 100%). From 74 samples with matched-tissue and circulating WBCs, 40 patients (54%) showed ≥1% PD-L1-positive immune infiltrates in tumor tissue and 39 patients (53%) showed ≥1% PD-L1 positive in circulating WBCs, with 80% concordance between blood and tissue (sensitivity = 82%; specificity = 79%). We found a trend for worse survival in patients receiving first-line cisplatin-based chemotherapy treatments, whose tumors express PD-L1 in CTCs or immune cells (progression-free and overall survival), similar to the effects of PD-L1 expression in matched-patient tumors. Conclusions: These results demonstrated that PD-L1 status in CTCs and circulating WBCs correlate with PD-L1 status in tumor tissue, revealing the potential of CTCs assessment as a noninvasive real-time biopsy to evaluate PD-L1 expression in patients with advanced-stage NSCLC.

Leptospirosis--clinical spectrum and correlation with seven simple laboratory tests for early diagnosis in the Third World.

Twenty-four patients who were clinically suspected of having leptospirosis were subjected to 7 simple commonly available laboratory tests. The 21 patients who had 3 or more positive tests were confirmed serologically to have leptospirosis. The high frequency of acute abdominal pain (71.4%) as a major presenting symptom and the laboratory findings of raised serum amylase levels in a high percentage of patients (84.2%) were especially noteworthy.

Coronary angiographic findings in patients with diabetes: an exercise in cardiovascular epidemiology.

A study of 516 patients with diabetes mellitus who presented with chest pain and an equal number of matched controls without diabetes examined by selective coronary arteriography was undertaken. Detailed analysis of the angiograms showed that prevalence of CAD in diabetics with symptoms was 86.6%. This prevalence increased with age. Multivessel disease was more common in diabetics that in controls (p < 0.01). In diabetic patients disease involvement of proximal and distal segments in the same vessel was more common (p < 0.01). The Gensini score of quantitative expression of severity of CAD was higher in diabetics (p < 0.05). The number of occluded segments in the coronary tree was higher in diabetics (p < 0.01). No correlation could be established between severity of disease and age, body mass index or duration of diabetes. It is concluded that diabetes affects the coronary arteries of Indian patients more adversely than those of non-diabetics. The prevalence of CAD among diabetics increases linearly with age.