The expression levels of CLDN18 (P = 4.4e-04) were significantly higher in HCC tissues compared to the normal tissues (Fig. 3B), whereas METTL7B, ITGA9, SOCS3 and RNASE3 were downregulated in the tumor tissues (Fig. 3A, C, D and E). This evidence concerns the gene CLDN18 and hepatocellular carcinoma.