TTR and hepatocellular carcinoma: By employing comparative proteomic approaches several putative serum HCC biomarkers have successfully been identified; such as heat shock protein27, C3, Apolipoprotein AI, haptoglobin (HP), α-1-antitrypsin (AAT) and transthyretin (TTR) in HBV-infected patients and apolipoprotein C I and II, α-anolase, transferrin, and galectin-4 in HCV-infected cases (2, 8, 11, 13).