Inflammation is an emerging hallmark of cancer.[36] CRP, an acute-phase inflammatory reactant synthesized in hepatocytes, is a key component in inflammation based prognostic score systems for HCC.[37–39] The cut-off value of 10 mg/L for CRP was set empirically in most studies.[37,38,40] Of note, hs-CRP, more sensitive and accurate than CRP, has different limits of quantification.[41] Liu et al[42] proposed a cut-off value of 4 mg/L for hs-CRP in the risk stratification of postoperative HCC patients, which is close to our cut-off value. The gene discussed is CRP; the disease is hepatocellular carcinoma.