Among the histological characteristics of tumors, microvascular invasion was accompanied by higher frequency of Tregs (CD25+ FoxP3+/CD3+, p<0.05) and lower levels of e-cadherin (p<0.05) mRNA expression in HCCs; higher tumor grade ( = 3) was associated with higher expression of CD45 (p<0.05) and higher frequency of Tregs (CD25+ FoxP3+/CD3+, p<0.05) in HCC when compared to lower grade; presence of histological lymphomononuclear infiltrate was detected in HCCs with higher alpha fetoprotein (AFP) expression (p<0.05). Here, FOXP3 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.