Impact of Immune Response on Outcomes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Association With Vascular Formation

BACKGROUND AND AIMS We investigated the prognostic value of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression, tumor-infiltrating CD8-positive T-cell status, and their combination in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Their association with PD-L1 expression and vascular formation was further explored. APPROACH AND RESULTS Using a database of 387 patients who underwent hepatic resection for HCC, immunohistochemical staining of PD-L1, CD8, and CD34 was performed. Additionally, we undertook an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for soluble PD-L1. Compared with patients with HCC and PD-L1-negative expression (n = 311), patients with HCC and PD-L1-positive expression (n = 76) showed significantly worse overall survival (OS; multivariate hazard ratio, 2.502; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.716-3.649; P