Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36630992›Full record

ArticleThoracic cancer2023

Circulating tumor cells PD-L1 expression detection and correlation of therapeutic efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibition in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Qing Zhou, Xiangning Liu, Ji Li, Bing Tong, Yan Xu, Minjiang Chen, Xiaoyan Liu, Xiaoxing Gao, Yuequan Shi, Jing Zhao and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Thoracic cancer, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Towards liquid biopsy-based analysis of antitumour immunity.Nature reviews. Clinical oncology · 2026
    Review
  3. From Tumour to Bloodstream: Advancing PD-L1 Testing With Liquid Biopsies in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.Cytopathology : official journal of the British Society for Clinical Cytology · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Observational
  6. Article
  7. Circulating Tumor Cell PD-L1 and Peripheral Blood CD8Cancer management and research · 2026
    Article
  8. Role of circulating tumor cell clusters in breast cancer.Translational breast cancer research : a journal focusing on translational research in breast cancer · 2026
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Qing ZhouDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID 0000-0002-1917-5105
Xiangning LiuDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
Ji LiDepartment of Pathology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
Bing TongDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID 0000-0002-6410-8630
Yan XuDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID 0000-0002-2832-2664
Minjiang ChenDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID 0000-0002-4040-6115
Xiaoyan LiuDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
Xiaoxing GaoDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
Yuequan ShiDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID 0000-0001-5469-8190
Jing ZhaoDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
Wei ZhongDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
Mengzhao WangDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThis study investigated whether programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in peripheral blood can serve as a predictive biomarker for immunotherapy efficacy in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

methodsWe employed a negative enrichment method to isolate CTCs. We identified PD-L1 + CTCs as PD-L1+/4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI)+/CD45-circulating tumor cells through an immunofluorescence method. Tumor tissue PD-L1 expression was determined by immunohistochemical staining. The correlation between CTC PD-L1 expression and patients' prognostic features was estimated through the Kaplan-Meier method.

resultsCTCs released a higher detection rate of PD-L1 expression than tumor tissues (53.0% vs. 42.1%). No correlation was observed between them. Forty-nine NSCLC patients received anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy (three with combined anti-PD-1/PD-L1 and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4), two with four cycles of combined immune checkpoint inhibitors [ICIs] plus chemotherapy and ICI monotherapy for maintenance). Patients with PD-L1 expression on tissue or CTCs had a median progression-free survival (mPFS) of 5.6 months (n = 36, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.6-7.5 months), significantly longer than those without PD-L1 detection (n = 9, mPFS of 1.4 months, 95% CI 1.3-1.5 months, log-rank p = 0.032). The multivariable Cox proportional-hazard model suggested that the tissue or CTC PD-L1 expression was associated with a lower risk of progression (hazard ratio 0.45, 95% CI 0.21-0.98, p = 0.043).

conclusionsCTCs and tumor tissues reveal heterogeneous expression of PD-L1 in NSCLC patients. Patients with baseline PD-L1 expression on CTCs or tissue showed prolonged mPFS and may help to identify the subsets of patients who potentially benefit from immunotherapy.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell LungLung NeoplasmsNeoplastic Cells, CirculatingB7-H1 AntigenHumansImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsB7-H1 AntigenCD274 protein, humanImmune Checkpoint Inhibitorscirculating tumor cellsimmunotherapynon-small-cell lung cancerprogrammed death-ligand 1

Identifiers

PMID36630992
PMCPMC9925337

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.