TACE treatment decreased the risk of death in HCC patients with high Cbx4 expression (TACE versus control, HR 0.596, 95% CI 0.410–0.868; P=0.007) or high VEGF expression (TACE versus control, HR 0.690, 95% CI 0.491–0.969; P=0.032), while TAE increased the risk of death in patients with high Cbx4 expression (TAE versus control, HR 1.533, 95% CI 1.114–2.110; P=0.009) or high VEGF expression (TAE versus control, HR 1.396, 95% CI 1.017–1.918; P=0.039; Figure 3d). Here, VEGFA is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.