However, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the overall 5-year survival rate was significantly lower in informative HCC patients with CLDN3 downregulation (n=82, with a mean of 60 months) than that in HCC patients with normal CLDN3 expression (n=27, with a mean of 78 months) (P=0.021, Fig. 1F). Here, CLDN3 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.