Skip to main content
Oncology

PD-L1

A protein on cancer cells that helps them evade the immune system; a key marker for immunotherapy.

PD-L1 expression on cancer cells indicates likely response to immunotherapy (pembrolizumab, nivolumab). Tested as a percentage of cells.

What this means for you: confirm PD-L1 testing. High PD-L1 makes immunotherapy a strong option, often as first-line therapy.

General information, not medical advice

What a term means for you depends on your own reports. Ask your treating doctor, or send your reports for a free review.

More Oncology terms

Want this explained for your case?

Send your reports once. A doctor reviews them and you get written quotes from up to 3 hospitals, free.

How this page is made

Methodology and editorial standards

Glossary entries are written by the Medcasts editorial team in plain language and checked against current clinical and regulatory sources.

  1. Hospital data. Accreditation, licences and facilities are checked against public registries (JCI, NABH, health-ministry licence lists) and hospital documents, and rechecked regularly.
  2. Doctor credentials. Qualifications and specialty come from the doctor's hospital profile and national medical council registers.
  3. Prices. Price ranges come from written hospital quotes and packages, not advertised rates.
  4. Clinical text. Written by our editorial team and checked against current published guidelines before it goes live.
  5. Independence. Hospitals cannot pay to change their position on our pages.