VEGFA and hepatocellular carcinoma: Atezolizumab (an immunotherapy that inhibits programmed death ligand 1 [PD-L1]) plus bevacizumab (a monoclonal anti-angiogenic antibody targeting vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF]) is recommended as a first-line treatment for patients with unresectable HCC (uHCC) in the Japanese guidelines for liver cancer treatment from the Japan Society of Hepatology [5, 6], as well as the guidelines of the BCLC group [4] and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases [7].