RCC is widely recognized as a typical ‘hot tumour’, characterized by an abundant infiltration of CD8+ T cells in the TME.79, –81 While a higher infiltration of CD8+ T cells predicts a better prognosis in many cancers due to their cytotoxic function,82, –84 this correlation does not apply to RCC patients.85 However, CD8+ T cells have distinct subtypes, with conventional cytotoxic CD8+ T cells having an anticancer role, whereas exhausted CD8+ T cells become dysfunctional. Here, CD8A is linked to renal cell carcinoma.