Tumor programmed cell death ligand 1 expression correlates with nodal metastasis in patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

摘要

Background: Binding of tumor-expressed programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) to the programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) surface receptor blocks T-cell activation thereby leading to immune evasion. Tumor PD-L1 expression has been associated with poor outcome in a wide variety of cancers; however, data in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) are scarce and conflicting.