Interestingly, it is reported that the combination of NLR plus AFP is a reliable predictive biomarker in the diagnosis of HCC with any original etiology.14 Thus, our explanation for the difference between ours and other studies may be due to: we focused on HBV‐HCC only with large patients size, whereas theirs are any causes with relatively smaller patient size. The gene discussed is AFP; the disease is hepatocellular carcinoma.