In the present study, we found that only a limited subset of HCC cells express high levels of PD-L1, whereas most intratumoral inflammatory cells express higher levels of PD-L1, which is consistent with the previous reports in HCC16,45, as well as other kinds of malignancies, such as cholangiocarcinoma, breast cancers, soft tissue sarcoma, and neuroendocrine carcinoma17,18,46–48. Here, CD274 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.