In RCC a high CD8+ T cell infiltration is correlated with a worse prognosis and has not been associated with a higher probability of response to anti-PD-1 therapy, in contrast to what is seen in many other types of cancer.22,23 To the best of our knowledge, it is not fully understood why inflamed renal tumors do not respond well to immune checkpoint inhibitors, although a low tumor mutational burden and specific somatic mutations may play a role.23,24 Here we propose HSD11B1 as a novel factor contributing to resistance to immunotherapy in renal cancer. The gene discussed is PDCD1; the disease is cancer.