Immune checkpoint inhibitors for anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD-1), such as nivolumab and pembrolizumab, demonstrated durable clinical responses and favorable toxicity profiles in phase II clinical trials and were granted accelerated approval by the FDA for the second-line treatment of HCC (CheckMate 040 and KEYNOTE-224) [3, 4]. This evidence concerns the gene PDCD1 and hepatocellular carcinoma.