In conclusion, this study demonstrated that intrahepatic AKR1B10 expression was up-regulated in association with AFP and significantly reflected the risk of HCC in patients with chronic hepatitis C. AKR1B10 is not only a clinically useful predictive marker for HCC development but may also hold the key to elucidating the mechanism of the very early stages of hepatocarcinogenesis. The gene discussed is AFP; the disease is chronic hepatitis C virus infection.