With respect to the microbial implications on immune system modularity, a recent study which examined patients who were receiving anti PD-1 therapy for unresectable HCC revealed that a higher abundance of the taxa Lachnospiraceae bacterium-GAM79 and Alistipes sp Marseille-P5997 was associated with improved clinical response, as well as overall survival compared to patients with lower abundance of these taxa [93] (Figure 5). This evidence concerns the gene PDCD1 and hepatocellular carcinoma.