PD-L1 (SP142) testing is concordant between Benchmark Ultra and Bond-III stainers

• Published in: World journal of urology Vol. 39; no. 11; pp. 4067 - 4071
• Main Authors: Compérat, Eva, Oszwald, André, Wasinger, Gabriel, Wacquet, Justine, Rouprêt, Morgan, Cussenot, Olivier
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.11.2021; Springer Nature B.V; Springer Verlag
• Subjects: Antibodies; Apoptosis; B7-H1 Antigen - analysis; Bladder cancer; Cancer; Clinical trials; Coloring Agents; Equipment Design; Humans; Immunotherapy; Life Sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metastases; Monoclonal antibodies; Nephrology; Oncology; PD-L1 protein; Pyrrhocoridae; Staining and Labeling - instrumentation; Topic Paper; Tumors; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms - chemistry; Urology; Immunohistochemistry; PD-L1 inhibitors; Bladder cancer; Clinical pathology
• ISSN: 0724-4983; 1433-8726; 1433-8726
• DOI: 10.1007/s00345-021-03828-w

Background Atezolizumab is an inhibitor of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), used to treat advanced or metastatic bladder cancer, and in trials for non-invasive disease. In order to be eligible for treatment, patients require a PD-L1 immune cell score ≥ 5%, using the Ventana SP142 PD-L1 assay. Many laboratories do not have access to the required Ventana Benchmark Ultra stainer, and it is unclear if the assay performs similarly on other stainers. In this study, we compare SP142 assay results between Ventana Benchmark Ultra and Leica Bond-III stainers. Methods Serial sections of 90 samples of transurethral bladder resections (comprising 51 pTaHG, 8 pTis, 18 pT1, 10 pT2 tumors) were stained using the SP142 PD-L1 antibody on Ventana Benchmark Ultra and Leica Bond-III stainers, manually scored, and compared using accuracy and Cohen’s kappa measures. Results Both devices yielded highly concordant PD-L1 immune cell scores (accuracy 0.84, Cohen’s κ 0.732). Moreover, we found similar tumor cell (TC) PD-L1 scores using both stainers, and a trend towards greater TC scores in pT2 stage samples ( p  = 0.05). Conclusion This study is the first to compare the SP142 antibody in bladder cancer on two different stainers. Our results indicate that both Benchmark Ultra and Bond-III stainers yield highly concordant results using the SP142 PD-L1 antibody.