Subgroup analyses based on histology types showed that PD-L1 expression significantly reduced the OS of NSCLC patients (HR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.05–1.52, P = 0.01) and LELC patients (HR = 3.04, 95% CI: 1.19–7.77, P = 0.02), but not SCLC (HR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.27–1.39, P = 0.24).To further examine the effects of different subtypes of NSCLC on survival, a subgroup analysis was conducted in patients with ADC and SCC. This evidence concerns the gene CD274 and small cell lung carcinoma.