The relationship between the antiproliferative effects of apatinib and VEGFR‐2 expression has been indicated in gastric cancer lines.36 The results in our study suggested that the expression of VEGFR‐2 could be used to evaluate apatinib sensitivity in patients with HCC, providing experimental evidence for individualized treatment of HCC and population screening of apatinib‐sensitive HCC. The gene discussed is KDR; the disease is gastric cancer.