The CheckMate 648 trial further demonstrated the potential of dual immunotherapy targeting both programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) in advanced ESCC [3], as well as in other neoplasms [4, 5]. The gene discussed is CTLA4; the disease is esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.