Linear regression was used to estimate the correlation between qPCR and Southern blot, resulting in r2 = 0.6, r2 = 0.4, and r2 = 0.9 in controls (n = 76), HCC patients (n = 51), and TERT-mutant HCC patients (n = 4), respectively (S2 Fig). The gene discussed is TERT; the disease is hepatocellular carcinoma.