Table 1. Clinical-pathological characteristics (total).

	Patients (n; %)	P value
HCC tissue/tumor-adjacent normal tissue (NT)	40 (100%)/40 (100%)
Age (<60/≥60 years old)	22 (55%)/18 (45%)	0.52
Gender (male/female)	28 (70%)/12 (30%)
Tumor site (liver)	40 (100%)
Tumor size (small/big)	20 (50%)/20 (50%)	0.011
Tumor stage (I/II/III/IV)	8 (20%)/16 (40%)/10 (25%)/6 (15%)	0.02
Lymph node metastasis (no/yes)	12 (30%)/28 (70%)	0.01
Distal metastasis at diagnosis (no/yes)	24 (60%)/16 (40%)	0.02