Among these genes, four were upregulated (ZC2HC1A, MARCKSL1, PTGS1, CDKN2B) and five (CLEC10A, PRDX3, PRKCH, MPEG1, LMO2) were downregulated in HCC with poor prognosis (Additional file 2: Table S2). This evidence concerns the gene CDKN2B and hepatocellular carcinoma.