Programmed death ligand 1 expression and CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte density differences between paired primary and brain metastatic lesions in non-small cell lung cancer

Immunotherapy targeting the programmed cell death-1/programmed death ligand 1(PD-L1) pathway has shown promising antitumor activity in brain metastases (BMs) of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with an acceptable safety profile; however, the response rates often differ between primary lesions and intracranial lesions. Studies are necessary to identify detailed characterizations of the response biomarkers. In this study, we aimed to compare the differences of PD-L1 expression and CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) density, two major response biomarkers of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade, between paired primary and brain metastatic lesions in advanced NSCLC. We observed that among primary lesions or BMs, only a small number of patients harbored common PD-L1 expression on both tumor cells and tumor-infiltrating immune cells. Additionally, we found that the numbers of CD8+ TILs were significantly fewer in BMs than in primary lung cancers. Low stromal CD8+ TIL numbers in BMs were associated with significantly shorter overall survival compared to high stromal CD8+ TIL counts. Notably, we demonstrated a discrepancy in PD-L1 expression and CD8+ TIL density between primary lung cancers and their corresponding BMs. Such heterogeneities are significantly associated with the time at which BMs occurred. Our study emphasizes the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of biomarkers for anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy, which should be concerned in clinical practice. •The prevalence of PD-L1 expression on tumor cells and tumor-infiltrating immune cells was discrepant in NSCLC BM patients.•PD-L1 expression had a spatial and temporal discrepancy in NSCLC patients with brain metastasis.•For NSCLC BM patients, CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte density showed a spatial and temporal heterogeneity.•Stromal CD8+ cell numbers in the brain metastatic lesions may be a potential prognostic factor for NSCLC BM patients.