Following primer optimization, three probes corresponding to three genes NEURONAL MEMBRANE GLYCOPROTEIN M6-B (GPM6B), MELANOMA ANTIGEN FAMILY A 12 (MAGEA12), and IMMUNOGLOBULIN SUPERFAMILY FC RECEPTOR (FCRL1), were found to differentiate HCC from adjacent normal tissue and/or invasive tumors from non-invasive tumors in a Chinese set of samples as well as HCC from chronic hepatitis B infection (CHB) in samples from Bangladesh. Here, MAGEA12 is linked to chronic hepatitis B virus infection.