Relationship between the expression of PD-1/PD-L1 and 18F-FDG uptake in bladder cancer

PurposeImmunotherapy aimed at inhibiting the PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint has been approved and used successfully for the treatment of bladder cancer. The identification of markers predictive of response to immune checkpoint inhibitors is critical to advancing the success of this therapy. F-18-FDG PET/CT is a molecular imaging technique that can provide phenotypic information on malignant tumours. It is currently unknown whether there is a relationship between F-18-FDG uptake and expression of PD-1/PD-L1 in bladder cancer. In this study, we investigated whether PD-1/PD-L1 expression is associated with F-18-FDG uptake in bladder cancer, and whether F-18-FDG PET/CT imaging can be used to predict the PD-1/PD-L1 status of bladder cancer.MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed in 63 patients with bladder cancer who had undergone F-18-FDG PET/CT before surgical resection. Maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax) were determined.ResultsSUVmax was significantly higher in PD-1-positive patients than in PD-1-negative patients (33.013.9 and 19.6 +/- 14.2, respectively; P=0.032), and in PD-L1-positive patients than in PD-L1-negative patients (29.1 +/- 15.6 and 15.8 +/- 11.4, respectively; P<0.0001). In a multivariate analysis SUVmax was significantly associated with both PD-1 expression and PD-L1 expression (P=0.021 and P=0.003, respectively). Using a SUVmax cut-off value of 22.7, PD-1 status and PD-L1 status could be predicted with accuracies of 71.4% and 77.8%, respectively.Conclusion p id=Par4 Higher F-18-FDG uptake by bladder cancer is associated with elevated PD-1/PD-L1 expression. F-18-FDG PET/CT may be useful for predicting the PD-1/PD-L1 status of bladder cancer and for determining the optimal therapeutic strategy.