There was no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups in terms of gender, age, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS), pretreatment CP class, American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage, the level of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), the presence or absence of hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT), prior treatment and treatment after RT (Table 1). This evidence concerns the gene AFP and hepatitis A virus infection.