The presence of primary cilia, programmed cell death protein-1 receptor (PD-1) expression and intraepithelial CD8+ TIL (tumor infiltrating lymphocytes) expression were retrospectively evaluated in tumor tissue blocks of the resected specimens of the kidney in 104 patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Median overall survival (OS) was significantly longer in patients with lower frequency of primary cilia (0.002) (p25%) CD8+ TIL expression (p=0.006).
Median OS was significantly longer in patients with lower (25%) PD-1 expression (p=0.006). The present study provides the first data on the potential association and combined prognostic significance of frequency of primary cilia, CD8+ TIL expression and PD-1 expression in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma.