Several candidate biomarkers including HGF, VEGF, ANG2, and AFP have been reported; however, none of the validated biomarkers have been established in practice.11 The biomarker study on treatment response to sorafenib with the largest cohort of patients with unresectable HCC could not identify any biomarkers.12 As in previous studies, no significant predictors of treatment response to sorafenib were identified in the present cohort of patients with unresectable HCC. This evidence concerns the gene AFP and hepatocellular carcinoma.