To further validate the differential expression of potential biomarker genes using realtime RT-PCR from the blood of early HCC patients and healthy control subjects (ten subjects in each group), we selected eight genes (GJA1, VIM, IGFBP3, COL1A1, SP100, MMP2, LGALS3BP, and DPP4) among early HCC gene signature with CNA (denoted with asterisk in Table 2) and were differentially regulated in at least one of the independent datasets. This evidence concerns the gene MMP2 and hepatocellular carcinoma.