# PD-L1 IC score (immune-cell score, SP142)

Source: https://onco.cc/biomarkers/pd-l1-ic-score/  
OnCo record `pd-l1-ic-score` (Biomarker). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The IC score measures how much of the tumour area is covered by PD-L1-stained immune cells rather than tumour cells. It belongs to the SP142 assay used with atezolizumab and is read differently from every other PD-L1 score.

## Summary

The VENTANA SP142 assay scores PD-L1 on tumour-infiltrating immune cells as the proportion of tumour area they occupy: IC0 (< 1 percent), IC1 (1 to < 5 percent), IC2 (5 to < 10 percent), IC3 (>= 10 percent). Atezolizumab's current US label uses IC >= 10 percent as one arm of the first-line NSCLC single-agent gate (the other being TC >= 50 percent). Earlier atezolizumab indications that used IC scores, IC >= 5 percent in cisplatin-ineligible urothelial cancer and IC >= 1 percent in triple-negative breast cancer (IMpassion130), were withdrawn in the United States in 2022 and 2021; the FDA companion diagnostic list still carries the urothelial SP142 approval of 2016. Blueprint comparison studies found SP142 stains fewer tumour cells than 22C3, 28-8 or SP263, so an SP142 result cannot be swapped for a TPS or CPS.

## Fields

- Kind: Biomarker
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: PD-L1 IC; IC score; immune cell score; tumor-infiltrating immune cell score; SP142 IC; IC >= 1%; IC >= 5%; IC >= 10%; IC≥1%; IC2/3
- Tags: biomarker; pd-l1

## Sources

- TECENTRIQ prescribing information (DailyMed): https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=6fa682c9-a312-4932-9831-f286908660ee

## Connected records

- biomarkers: [PD-L1 CPS (combined positive score)](https://onco.cc/biomarkers/pd-l1-cps/), [PD-L1 TC score (tumour-cell score, SP263 and 28-8)](https://onco.cc/biomarkers/pd-l1-tc-score/), [PD-L1 TPS (tumour proportion score)](https://onco.cc/biomarkers/pd-l1-tps/)
- cancers: [Bladder & urothelial cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/urothelial/), [Metastatic triple-negative breast cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/tnbc-metastatic/), [Non-small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/nsclc/)
- drugs: [Atezolizumab](https://onco.cc/drugs/atezolizumab/), [VENTANA PD-L1 (SP142) Assay](https://onco.cc/drugs/ventana-pd-l1-sp142/)
- terms: [Immunohistochemistry (IHC)](https://onco.cc/terms/ihc/), [PD-L1 expression testing (22C3, SP142, SP263)](https://onco.cc/terms/pd-l1-testing/), [Tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs)](https://onco.cc/terms/tils/)
- targets: [PD-L1](https://onco.cc/targets/pdl1/)

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