Frequencies and expression levels of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) in circulating tumor RNA (ctRNA) in various cancer types
Highlights: • Blood were collected from gastric, colorectal, lung, breast, prostate cancer patients. • PD-L1 expression was detected in the plasma at varying frequencies. • No PD-L1 mRNA was detected in cancer-free individuals. • PD-L1 mRNA can be detected and quantitated in ctRNA of cancer patients. Precision medicine and prediction of therapeutic response requires monitoring potential biomarkers before and after treatment. Liquid biopsies provide noninvasive prognostic markers such as circulating tumor DNA and RNA. Circulating tumor RNA (ctRNA) in blood is also used to identify mutations in genes of interest, but additionally, provides information about relative expression levels of important genes. In this study, we analyzed PD-L1 expression in ctRNA isolated from various cancer types. Tumors inhibit antitumor response by modulating the immune checkpoint proteins programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and its cognate receptor PD1. The expression of these genes has been implicated in evasion of immune response and resistance to targeted therapies.