On the one hand, CD8+ CTLs have been found to promote HCC development by producing lymphotoxin-α and lymphotoxin-β, which are related to the construction of ectopic lymphoid structures (one of the poor prognostic factors of HCC), and tumor progression was shown to be slowed down when CD8+ T cells and lymphotoxin-β were depleted in an HCC model. This evidence concerns the gene CD8A and hepatocellular carcinoma.