Dr. Chaudhary on the Correlation of PD-L2 Status and PFS Rates in ER+ Breast Cancer

Lubna N. Chaudhary, MD, associate professor of medicine, the Medical College of Wisconsin, discusses the correlation between PD-L2 status and progression-free survival (PFS) rates in treatment-naïve estrogen receptor (ER)–positive breast cancer.

Because durable responses with PD-1 inhibitors are less common in ER-positive breast cancer, investigators sought to research the association of PD-L2 status and prognosis in this patient population.

Findings presented at the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium showed that high PD-L2 expression in tumor cells was significantly associated with poorer outcomes and reduced PFS in patients with treatment-naïve, localized ER-positive breast cancer, Chaudhary explains. Moreover, patients with a high PD-L2 expression who received adjuvant chemotherapy were at an increased risk of progression.

Given the large volume of tumor specimens observed, investigators were able to validate these findings and the significance of PD-L2 expression in this patient population, Chaudhary concludes.