In the case of PD-L1, both intra-tumoral PD-L1 (p = 0.056) and circulating PD-L1 (p = 0.067) showed a non-significant trend towards independently predicting HCC-specific survival, together with AFP > 100 μgl−1 (p = 0.039). The gene discussed is AFP; the disease is hepatocellular carcinoma.