Immunohistochemical staining of two patients with HCC and PVTT showed that the protein levels of SERPINB2 gradually decreased from non-cancerous to HCC and to PVTT tissues, whereas an inverse trend was observed for uPAR (Fig. 5K), indicating the potential of the uPA system to promote vascular invasion in HCC. The gene discussed is PLAU; the disease is hepatocellular carcinoma.