With the recent FDA approval of the anti-PD-1 mAb nivolumab for treatment of HCC, one might hope to specifically target tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells and potentiate tumor antigen-specific response in the TME, including NKG2D-mediated surveillance, without enhancing the detrimental pro-inflammatory effect of NKG2D in the adjacent healthy tissue. Here, CD8A is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.