In our research, MSH2 was the most effective indicator (AUC = 0.830) for the diagnosis of AFP‐negative HCC than NLR (AUC = 0.798), MLR (AUC = 0.803), hs‐CRP (AUC = 0.560), TNF‐α (AUC = 0.644), IL‐6 (AUC = 0.808), P53 (AUC = 0.681), Tm‐4 (AUC = 0.694), drinking (AUC = 0.582), smoking (AUC = 0.581), and occupational exposure to chemicals (AUC = 0.567), but its sensitivity(70.9%) was unsatisfactory. The gene discussed is TNF; the disease is hepatocellular carcinoma.