Importantly, loss of Hh activity in TAMs was associated with enhanced CD8+ T cell infiltration in the TME by the suppression of chemokines CXCL9 and CXCL10, and CD8+ T cell effector functions by promoting PD-L1 expression via STAT3, thereby influencing the survival and tumor development in hepatoma, indicating that Hh modulates T cell inhibition at least in part by TAMs in Hh-ligand dependent paracrine tumors. Here, CD8A is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.