Increased Expression of Programmed Death Ligand 1 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma of Patients with Hepatitis B Virus Pre-S2 Mutant.

The increased expression of PD-L1 in tumor tissues of the pre-S2 mutant-positive HCC patients suggest that pre-S2 mutant may play a potential role in dysregulation of tumor immune microenvironment in the progression of HBV-related HCC, implicating for the development of future therapeutic strategies.