Therefore, the present study investigated the role and mechanism of cell-intrinsic PD-L1 signaling in EMT and tumor progression of NSCLC in vitro and in vivo and explored the role of PD-L1-induced EMT as a predictive biomarker for ICI therapy in patients with NSCLC, particularly in the context of PD-L1 expression. Here, CD274 is linked to non-small cell lung carcinoma.