The Clinical Utility of PD-L1 Testing in Selecting Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients for PD1/PD-L1-Directed Therapy

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States and worldwide. Long thought to be nonimmunogenic, immunotherapy in lung cancer has historically been met with disappointing results. Programmed death-1 (PD-1), and the PD-1 ligand, PD-L1, are immune checkpoint proteins that fine-tune the antigen-specific T-cell response after stimulation of the T-cell receptor and are crucial for self-tolerance. This pathway in particular is co-opted by tumors through expression of PD-L1 on the tumor cell surface and within the tumor microenvironment, allowing for direct suppression of antitumor cytolytic T-cell activity by the tumor. Indeed, induction of the PD1/PD-L1 pathway represents an adaptive immune resistance mechanism exerted by tumor cells in response to endogenous antitumor activity. In 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two immuno-oncology agents, the PD-1 inhibitors nivolumab and pembrolizumab, for the treatment of previously treated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Coincident with the clinical trials that led to these regulatory approvals has been the development of several immunohistochemistry (IHC) tests of PD-L1 expression, which may serve to select patients who will derive the most benefit from PD1- or PD-L1-directed therapy. The PD-L1 IHC assays are distinct in their methods and interpretation, which poses a challenge to clinicians selecting patients for these therapies.