Chi-squared analysis of clinical-pathological variables and DPP4 expression in 327 patients revealed that DPP4 expression was closely correlated with TNM stage (P=0.038), tumor number (P=0.035), and vascular invasion (P=0.024), while DPP4 expression was not correlated with age, sex, HBsAg, serum AFP, liver cirrhosis, Child-Pugh class, tumor differentiation, or tumor size (Table 1). Here, AFP is linked to cirrhosis of liver.