Univariate analysis identified several significant risk factors of cancer progression, including higher pretreatment CEA, multiple distant metastases (i.e. stage IVb disease), extrahepatic metastases, shorter anesthesia time, specific pathologic findings (lymphovascular invasion and perineural invasion), preoperative chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, and postoperative chemotherapy. The gene discussed is CEACAM5; the disease is cancer.