Clinical relevance of TLS in training cohort and validation cohort subgroups. (A–D) Kaplan–Meier curves showing that in patients with BCLC 0-A stage HCC, TLS+ was correlated to similar OS, better RFS, better early RFS and similar late RFS compared to those with TLS-; (E–H) Kaplan–Meier curves showing no significant correlation between TLS and OS, RFS, early RFS and late RFS for patients with BCLC B-C stage HCC; (I–L) Kaplan–Meier curves showing patients with TLS+ had similar OS, better RFS, better early RFS and similar late RFS compared to those with TLS- in the validation cohort. TLS, tertiary lymphoid structures; OS, overall survival; RFS, recurrence-free survival; BCLC, Barcelona Clinic of Liver Cancer.