By applying anti PD-1 (programmed cell death-1) and PD-L1 (programmed cell death ligand-1) immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment, unprecedented long survival could be achieved in both adenocarcinoma (ADC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) subtypes of NSCLC [2, 3]. The gene discussed is PDCD1; the disease is non-small cell lung carcinoma.