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Editor’s note: It is possible that immunological events play a role in the clinical course of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Loss or downregulation of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I in tumor cells, as well as tumor-induced immune modulation of surrounding tissue, appears closely connected to metastatic spreading and invasion of surrounding tissue. HLA class I molecules present tumor peptides to the patient’s cytotoxic T lymphocytes; altered presentation of antigen by HLA class I on tumor cells may therefore be an efficient mechanism to escape HLA-restricted, tumor-antigen-specific T cell immune responses.