Interestingly, two of the potential HCC epigenetic DNA markers we examined, methylation of the APC[33] and GSTP1 genes, exhibit liver-specific methylation patterns, suggesting that, in the search for epigenetic DNA markers for detection of HCC, the methylation status of normal liver should be taken into consideration when developing a sensitive and specific assay for the detection of HCC. Here, GSTP1 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.