To validate additional top-ranked candidate genes, six ICB therapy-related cohorts were collected (Additional file 1: Table S12), totaling 399 samples treated with CTLA-4 or PD1/PD-L1 inhibitors in skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM), clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), and non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) [62–67]. Here, PDCD1 is linked to clear cell renal carcinoma.