Research subjects

This is a prospective study. From January 2010 to April 2013, the present study included 68 patients (39 males and 29 females, aged 38 to 69 years, mean age 48.4±5.7 years) who were diagnosed as HCC through histopathological examinations in the Central Hospital of Wuhan. All the patients were enrolled according to strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria: i) First diagnosis; ii) no abnormal function of other organs observed. Exclusion criteria: i) Other clinical conditions other than HCC were observed; ii) any therapies received within 3 months after admission. Based on the staging criteria proposed by AJCC (17), there were 16, 14, 20 and 18 cases at stage I, II, III and IV, respectively. Among these patients, 39 were combined with liver fibrosis. All patients had signed informed consent before the study and the Ethics Committee of the Central Hospital of Wuhan had approved this study before admission.