Given that tumoral PD-L1 expression is the most widely used practical biomarker for ICI therapy in NSCLC, and because PD-L1 and EMT exhibit crosstalk between each other as shown by previous studies and the present study, the potential role of EMT as a predictive biomarker for ICI therapy needs to be explored in the context of PD-L1 expression. The gene discussed is CD274; the disease is non-small cell lung carcinoma.