On the basis of our previous results that the mean survival rate of patients is improved after the IFNα-2b/5-FU combination therapy4, 5, we first quantified the serum levels of TGF-β1 in patients with advanced HCC before and after the combination therapy to determine whether the efficacy of the therapy correlated with the regulation of TGF-β levels. The gene discussed is TGFB1; the disease is hepatocellular carcinoma.