Activation of the HIF-1 signaling pathway has been shown to promote HCC proliferation (Kung-Chun Chiu et al., 2019) and reduce HCC’s sensitivity to chemotherapy and radiotherapy (Zhao et al., 2014; Hu et al., 2021; Bai et al., 2022), PD-L1 and its related receptors have implications for HCC immunotherapy (Li et al., 2022; Qin, 2022). Here, CD274 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.