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Abstract Background Bladder cancers have been characterized as a tumor group in which the immunological response is relatively well preserved. Programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1, B7-H1, CD274) has been shown to be expressed in several malignancies, including bladder cancer. However, the clinicopathological impact of this biomarker has not yet been established. In the present study, a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was performed using paired normal and cancerous bladder cancer tissue to investigate PD-1/PD-L1 gene expression. Methods We examined the mRNA expression of PD-1/PD-L1 by a qPCR using 58 pairs of normal and cancerous human bladder tissue specimens. We also examined the correlation with the expressions of the STAT1 and NFAT genes, which are thought to be upstream and downstream of the PD-L1 pathway, respectively. Results There were no significant differences between normal and cancerous tissue in the expression of the PD-1 and PD-L1 genes (p = 0.724 and p = 0.102, respectively). However, PD-1 and PD-L1 were both more highly expressed in high-grade bladder cancer than in low-grade bladder cancer (p

Abstract Background The treatment of advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has drastically changed since the approval of immune checkpoint therapy. Nivolumab is a treatment option for patients with metastatic RCC, previously treated with targeted antiangiogenic therapy. The efficacy of nivolumab for patients with RCC was established by the Checkmate 025 clinical trial. Chromophobe RCC (CRCC) represents around 5% of RCC cases, but non-clear cell RCC (non-ccRCC) subtypes were excluded from the Checkmate 025 clinical trial. We report a case in which the use of nivolumab as the seventh-line therapy elicited a significant response in the treatment of metastatic CRCC with sarcomatoid differentiation. Case presentation We report a case of a 41-year-old woman with metastatic CRCC with sarcomatoid differentiation. She was treated with sunitinib, pazopanib, everolimus, sorafenib, axtinib, and temsirolimus, but treatment was discontinued because of disease progression or strong adverse events. Seventh-line treatment with nivolumab was initiated and significant clinical improvement was noted after 4 cycles. The treatment was well-tolerated with no significant side effects and the patient continues with nivolumab treatment at present. Conclusions Nivolumab may be an attractive treatment option for non-ccRCC patients with sarcomatoid differentiation that exhibited aggressive characteristics and poor prognosis. Further investigation is warranted.