HOXD13 and hepatocellular carcinoma: We, in this study, determined the circulating sPD-1 in patients with chronic HBV infection and analyzed the associations with the infection phases, liver diseases and the survival of patients with HBV-related HCC to further address the role of sPD-1 in the disease progression of chronic HBV infection and evaluate the potential value of sPD-1 determination in the differentiation of HBV infection phases and HBV-related liver diseases.