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Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleprevalent in eastern and southeastern Asia, and in middle Africa, with more than half of patients with HCC being reported from China [3]. In addition, evidence has been accumulating in various countries that the incidence of HCC is rising [4-7]. To improve treatment and prognosis of HCC, information about the phenotypic and molecular Hepatocarcinogenesis is a complex process associated with the accumulation of genetic and epigenetic changes that occur during initiation and progression of the cancer. In recent years, a number of genomic studies have identi-fied genes that are uniquely upregulated or downregulated in HCC tissues. For example, Lee et al. suggested that cystatin B (CSTB) or the combination of CSTB and α-fetoprotein may be useful markers for diagnosis with high sensitivity of patients with HCC [12]. In addition, potential biomarkers for detection of early HCC [13], such a