Patients with HCC enrolled for this study do not show circulating levels of Ang-1, Ang-2, and Tie1 and Tie2 receptors that are significantly different from those in patients with cirrhosis without HCC, but these molecules correlate with VEGF, CA 19-9, and platelets count in the case of Ang-1 and with PECAM-1 and HGF in the case of Ang-2. The gene discussed is TIE1; the disease is Cirrhosis.