Prognostic value of programmed death ligand‐1 and programmed death‐1 expression in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma

ObjectiveTo evaluate the prognostic value of programmed death ligand‐1 (PD‐L1) and programmed death‐1 (PD‐1) expression in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC).Patients and methodsA retrospective multicentre study was conducted in 283 patients with UTUC treated with radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) between 2000 and 2015 at 10 French hospitals. Immunohistochemistry analyses were performed using 2 mm‐core tissue microarrays with NAT105® and 28.8® antibodies at a 5% cut‐off for positivity on tumour cells and tumour‐infiltrating lymphocytes to evaluate PD‐L1 and PD‐1 expression, respectively. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to determine the independent predictors of recurrence‐free (RFS), cancer‐specific (CSS) and overall survival (OS).ResultsOverall, 63 (22.3%) and 220 (77.7%) patients with UTUC had PD‐L1‐positive and ‐negative disease, respectively, while 91 (32.2%) and 192 (67.8%) had PD‐1‐positive and ‐negative disease, respectively. Patients who expressed PD‐L1 or PD‐1 were more likely to have pathological tumour stage ≥pT2 (68.3% vs 49.5%, P = 0.009; and 69.2% vs 46.4%, P