Immunotherapy is a promising approach for the treatment of HCC.2 The rationale for immunological intervention is based on the presence of high numbers of tumor‐infiltrating T cells in HCC tissue,3 the correlation between the density of lymphocytic infiltrates in HCC lesions and prognosis,4 and, most importantly, the finding that adoptive immunotherapy with interleukin (IL)−2/anti‐CD3‐stimulated autologous lymphocytes lowers postsurgical recurrence rates in humans.5 The central effectors in this scenario are CD8+ T cells that recognize tumor‐associated antigens (TAA) and kill tumor cells. This evidence concerns the gene CD8A and hepatocellular carcinoma.