It was revealed that 45.2% of HCC metastatic lesions also expressed higher HNF4alpha than their corresponding primary foci, and the positive expression of HNF4alpha and E-cadherin in HCC and its metastases was obviously relevant, primarily suggesting that HNF4alpha might also play a crucial role in the metastatic tumor formation of HCC, and might be related with the expression change of E-cadherin in primary hepatic tumors or its metastases. This evidence concerns the gene HNF4A and hepatocellular carcinoma.