Since ICIs do not exert direct anti-proliferative activity on cancer cells, but are instead expected to harness tumor immunity, either by targeting cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) or the programmed cell death protein 1/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) axis, human xenografts in immuno-compromised mice are no longer a suitable model. Here, PDCD1 is linked to cancer.