Prognostic significance of tumor poliovirus receptor and CTLA4 expression in patients with surgically resected non-small-cell lung cancer

Introduction Poliovirus receptor (PVR) is a tumor promoter and a regulatory checkpoint that enhances immunosuppression. We investigated PVR expression by applying immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining. A positive association existed between PVR expression and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA4) expression in patients with surgically resected non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PVR expression is a prognosis predictor of lung adenocarcinoma. Purpose To investigate the prognostic significance of PVR expression and CTLA4 expression for surgically resected NSCLC. Patients and methods The medical records of 108 Chinese patients with primary NSCLC who underwent surgery were retrospectively reviewed. The expression of PVR and CTLA4 were measured through IHC. Clinical characteristics, the association between PVR and CTLA4, and the prognostic significance of PVR were analyzed. Results A significant positive association was observed between PVR and CTLA4 expression in NSCLC ( P = 0.016). PVR had a high positive rate among females, nonsmokers, and patients with adenocarcinoma and advanced lung cancer. The overall survival (OS) of patients with negative PVR expression was significantly longer than that of patients with positive PVR expression ( P = 0.049), especially among females ( P = 0.03) and nonsmokers ( P = 0.025). Multivariate analysis results showed that advanced tumor stage and PVR expression were independent prognosis predictors of poor OS. Conclusion PVR can potentially serve as a prognostic predictor and biomarker for NSCLC and cancer anti-CTLA4 immunotherapy response.