When 18s or ACTB was used for normalization, no significant difference of PGK1 expression (p > 0.05) was found among HCC tissues with and without metastasis, and normal liver specimens; however, dramatically differences (p < 0.001) were observed when either TBP or the combination of TBP and HPRT1 were selected as reference genes. Here, TBP is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.