In clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), immune checkpoint inhibitors are approved for first-line treatment of metastatic disease and have improved overall survival across multiple clinical trials.1 However, only 10% of patients with advanced ccRCC achieve complete response to checkpoint inhibitors.2 Since expression of PD-L1 does not predict response to treatment in renal cancer3, it is urgent to identify the factors of resistance to checkpoint inhibition and to develop novel combination therapies to improve the outcome of immunotherapy. Here, CD274 is linked to nonpapillary renal cell carcinoma.