Further analysis indicated that TERT promoter mutations were more frequent in men (P = 0.026, χ2-test) and in patients with older age (P = 0.012, unpaired student's t test), poor tumor differentiation (P = 0.028, χ2-test) and advanced Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage (P = 0.038, χ2-test) (Supplementary Table 2). Here, TERT is linked to neoplasm.