Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. With the advent of immunotherapy, programmed cell death-1 and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors have gained clinical importance, driving research into their regulatory mechanisms. CKLF-like MARVEL transmembrane domain- containing 6 (CMTM6) has been identified as a key regulator of PD-L1. In our study, we aimed to assess the prognostic significance of PD-L1 and CMTM6 expression in patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC).

This study included 100 patients with NSCLC. CMTM6 and PD-L1 expression were evaluated using immunohistochemistry, and H-scores were calculated.

A positive correlation was observed between H-PD-L1 and H-CMTM6 scores. In addition, both immunohistochemical scores were positively correlated with tumor size and grade. Both H-PD-L1 and H-CMTM6 scores of patients with adenocarcinoma were found to be lower than those of squamous carcinoma and other carcinoma types. Non-mucinous adenocarcinomas were grouped according to their predominant pattern (Group 1: lepidic pattern, Group 2: acinar and papillary pattern, Group 3: solid, micropapillary, and complex glandular/cribriform pattern). Group 3 had higher H-PD-L1 and H-CMTM6 scores than the others.

Our study demonstrated a correlation between CMTM6 and PD-L1 in NSCLC and suggested that CMTM6 may serve as a potential adverse prognostic marker.