{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,29]],"date-time":"2026-08-29T14:19:40Z","timestamp":1788013180293,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,29]],"date-time":"2026-08-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787961600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,29]],"date-time":"2026-08-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787961600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002839","name":"Charit\u00e9 - Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002839","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Oral Maxillofac Surg"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Despite the recognized biological relevance of the PD-1\/PD-L1 axis in immune evasion, the prognostic significance of PD-L1 expression in surgically treated oral squamous cell cancer (OSCC) patients remains largely unclear.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To investigate the prognostic significance of PD-L1 expression in a large cohort of OSCC patients primarily treated surgically in a single center.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This analysis included 156 consecutive OSCC patients treated with curative-intent surgery with their clinicopathologic variables, treatment details and clinical treatment outcomes. PD-L1 expression was categorized using the Combined Positive Score (CPS), defining PD-L1 positivity as CPS\u2009\u2265\u200910. Sensitivity analyses were repeated at the alternative thresholds CPS\u2009\u2265\u20091 and CPS\u2009\u2265\u200920. Survival and recurrence endpoints (OS, DFS, LRCR, NCR) were evaluated using Kaplan\u2013Meier\/log-rank methods and Cox regression with multivariable adjustment for key confounders.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Of 156 consecutive OSCC patients, 120 (76.9%) were PD-L1-positive. PD-L1 status was not associated with any clinicopathological parameter investigated herein. At 3\u00a0years, OS (76.1% vs. 68.7%), DFS (63.5% vs. 42.6%), LRCR (77.1% vs. 75.5%), and NCR (93.0% vs. 91.0%) were comparable between PD-L1-positive and PD-L1-negative patients, respectively. Neither binary PD-L1 classification nor continuous CPS was associated with OS, DFS, LRCR, or NCR in multivariable Cox regression, with no differential effect by disease stage. In adjuvant-treatment-stratified analysis, PD-L1 positivity was associated with improved DFS in patients without adjuvant therapy, but not in those who received it. In sensitivity analyses, findings at CPS\u2009\u2265\u200920 were concordant with the primary analysis, whereas at CPS\u2009\u2265\u20091 PD-L1 positivity was associated with superior OS (HR\u2009=\u20090.280 [95% CI: 0.106\u20130.745];\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.011).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Within a mean follow-up of 15.7\u2009\u00b1\u200912.5\u00a0months, PD-L1 expression assessed by CPS was not independently associated with survival or recurrence outcomes in surgically treated OSCC at the prespecified cutoff of CPS\u2009\u2265\u200910, nor at CPS\u2009\u2265\u200920. An isolated overall survival association at CPS\u2009\u2265\u20091 was driven by a very small PD-L1-negative reference group and should not be regarded as robust. Taken together, these data argue against a reliable standalone prognostic value of PD-L1 in the early postoperative period while the limited observation time does not permit conclusions on late recurrence or long-term survival.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1007\/s10006-026-01628-3","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,29]],"date-time":"2026-08-29T01:30:20Z","timestamp":1787967020000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Programmed Death-Ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and clinical outcomes in oral squamous cell carcinoma: evidence from a large clinical cohort"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"30","author":[{"given":"Michael","family":"Alfertshofer","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maximilian","family":"Richter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Konrad","family":"Klinghammer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christian","family":"Doll","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Steffen","family":"Koerdt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Max","family":"Heiland","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Friedrich","family":"Mrosk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"1628_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"235","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-immunol-031210-101324","volume":"29","author":"MD Vesely","year":"2011","unstructured":"Vesely MD, Kershaw MH, Schreiber RD, Smyth MJ (2011) Natural innate and adaptive immunity to cancer. 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