CRP and hepatocellular carcinoma: Inflammation has emerged as the seventh hallmark of cancer,12 and accumulating evidence indicated that the presence of systemic inflammation response is associated with poor survival in various malignancies including HCC.13 Various markers of systemic inflammation response, including C-reactive protein (CRP),14 cytokines,13 and absolute count of blood neutrophil or lymphocyte as well as their ratio (NLR) have been explored for their prognostic impact in certain cancer populations.15–18