To achieve improved therapeutic outcomes, the rational combinations of RFA with immune checkpoint inhibitor such as anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein-4 (anti-CTLA4) or anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD-1) against unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma have been studied under independent clinical trials8–10. This evidence concerns the gene PDCD1 and hepatocellular carcinoma.