Furthermore, previous reports have shown that sPD-L1 in the plasma of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) binds to PD-1 and that sPD-L1 may compete with ICIs by binding the PD-1 expressed on the surface of T cells, thereby promoting the exhaustion of activated T cells. Here, PDCD1 is linked to non-small cell lung carcinoma.