Finally, the discriminative ability of the MRT‐dPCR and IF methods for distinguishing between HCC patients and HDs was evaluated (Figure 7g), and the AUCs of EpCAM protein and mRNA using MRT‐dPCR were 0.903 and 0.844, respectively (sensitivities of 0.962 and 0.692, respectively), which outperformed the conventional IF identification of EpCAM protein (AUC of 0.669, sensitivity of 0.385) for CTC detection. This evidence concerns the gene EPCAM and hepatocellular carcinoma.