Surgery and TACE groups were well balanced for all covariates, including age, sex, total bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), tumor size, number, thrombus and location, either in patients within or outside HKLC criteria (all, P > 0.05). The gene discussed is AFP; the disease is neoplasm.