TGFB1 and cancer: As two articles from within included sub-studies according to the co-infection of hepatitis B and C viruses [16, 17], a total of 12 studies were qualified for the association of TGFB1 gene C-509T polymorphism with hepatocellular carcinoma, involving 2809 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and 4802 cancer-free controls.