Clinicopathological Features of Programmed Cell Death-ligand 1 Expression in Patients with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: Programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression has been shown to play important roles in various types of cancer. However, the role of PD-L1 expression has not been conclusively reported in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Accordingly, in this meta-analysis, we investigated the clinicopathological value of PD-L1 expression in patients with OSCC. METHODS: Google Scholar, PubMed, EMBASE, and CNKI databases were searched to find relevant studies published through to September 16, 2019. The relationships between PD-L1 expression in patients with OSCC and clinicopathological features were assessed using risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Sixteen studies including 1989 participants were included. The results indicated that high PD-L1 expression was correlated with sex (RR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.16–1.42, P < 0.001), N stage (RR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.06–1.33, P = 0.003), M stage (RR = 1.64, 95% CI: 1.01–2.66, P = 0.044), low differentiation (RR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.01–1.33, P = 0.034), and human papilloma virus infection (RR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.14–1.68, P = 0.001), but unrelated to TNM stage or T stage. There was no significant publication bias in the studies included in this analysis. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis revealed that high PD-L1 expression in patients with OSCC was correlated with clinicopathological features. Further large-scale studies are necessary to confirm our results.