Fig. 4

Statin use is associated with lower sEV PD-L1 levels in lung cancer patients with high tumor PD-L1 expression. (a) ELISA analysis of PD-L1-containing sEVs. Left, patients with tumor PD-L1-positivity (TPS ≥ 1%; statin (-), n = 41; statin (+), n = 10). Right, patients with high tumor PD-L1 positivity (TPS ≥ 50%; statin (-), n = 9; statin (+), n = 4). Two-tailed unpaired t-test. The horizontal line indicates the median value for each group. (b) Classifications of patients into six groups based on tumor PD-L1 levels and PD-L1-containing sEV concentrations. Groups 1–6 were defined according to tumor PD-L1 expression categories (TPS 0%, 1–49%, or ≥ 50%) combined with sEV PD-L1 concentrations above or below the cutoff value of 166 pg/mL. The numbers in parentheses indicate the number of patients taking statins. (c) Proportion of patients taking statins was highest in Group 6 (G6). white bar, statin (-). grey bar, statin (+). Fisher’s exact test. The number of patients taking statins is as follows: each drug: atorvastatin (4), simvastatin (1), pitavastatin (3), pravastatin (6), and rosuvastatin (5). In G6: pitavastatin (1), pravastatin (1), and rosuvastatin (1).