A novel computer-assisted tool for 3D imaging of programmed death-ligand 1 expression in immunofluorescence-stained and optically cleared breast cancer specimens.
BMC Cancer
; 24(1): 121, 2024 Jan 24.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38267903
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Programmed death-1 (PD-1) and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) are the two most common immune checkpoints targeted in triple-negative breast cancer (BC). Refining patient selection for immunotherapy is non-trivial and finding an appropriate digital pathology framework for spatial analysis of theranostic biomarkers for PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors remains an unmet clinical need.METHODS:
We describe a novel computer-assisted tool for three-dimensional (3D) imaging of PD-L1 expression in immunofluorescence-stained and optically cleared BC specimens (n = 20). The proposed 3D framework appeared to be feasible and showed a high overall agreement with traditional, clinical-grade two-dimensional (2D) staining techniques. Additionally, the results obtained for automated immune cell detection and analysis of PD-L1 expression were satisfactory.RESULTS:
The spatial distribution of PD-L1 expression was heterogeneous across various BC tissue layers in the 3D space. Notably, there were six cases (30%) wherein PD-L1 expression levels along different layers crossed the 1% threshold for admitting patients to PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. The average PD-L1 expression in 3D space was different from that of traditional immunohistochemistry (IHC) in eight cases (40%). Pending further standardization and optimization, we expect that our technology will become a valuable addition for assessing PD-L1 expression in patients with BC.CONCLUSION:
Via a single round of immunofluorescence imaging, our approach may provide a considerable improvement in patient stratification for cancer immunotherapy as compared with standard techniques.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Limite:
Female
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article