LGALS9 and hepatocellular carcinoma: HBV-associated HCC patients were separated into two groups according to the expression level of Gal-9, that is, cases with strong, moderate and weak Gal-9 expression were all designated as positive Gal-9 expression (score>0), while cases with no detectable Gal-9 expression were designated as negative Gal-9 expression (score=0).