Consistently, higher rate of pulmonary metastasis was observed in (Post/Pre)increase group (10/16, 62.5%) than that in (Post/Pre)decrease group (3/23, 13.0%, proportion test, P = 0.004, Table 1), however, AFP levels of these two groups did not have significant difference (P > 0.05) at both pre-surgery and post-surgery points, suggesting that the ratio of Post/Pre was a risk indicator of pulmonary metastasis superior to AFP at the early stage of HCC after curative hepatectomy. This evidence concerns the gene AFP and hepatocellular carcinoma.