Except for EGF-R which showed no statistical significant change among the studied groups, TGF-β1, collagen IV, laminin and MMP-2 had the ability, within acceptable performance, to discriminate patients with significant fibrosis (namely F > 2), while only collagen IV and laminin were able to discriminate those with cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis B and C patients. The gene discussed is MMP2; the disease is chronic hepatitis B virus infection.