The efficacy of anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody nivolumab in advanced HCC has been assessed in a phase I/II study, which showed an objective response rate (ORR) of 20%, a disease control rate (DCR) of 64% and a median OS of 13.2 months (El-Khoueiry et al., 2017). Here, PDCD1 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.