Figure 1

Schematic representation of the study design illustrating the liver specimens analyzed for gene expression profiling and the multidimensional scaling plot. (A) Different colors represent samples collected at different distances from HCC in the four directions (North, South, East and West). Red: HCC center (A area). Orange: HCC periphery (B area). Green: perilesional, non-tumorous tissue (C area). Turquoise: 2-3 cm from HCC (D area). Indigo: edge of the liver, 6-10 cm from HCC (E area). (B) Gene expression profiling of HBV-associated HCC. Multidimensional scaling plot showing the 3D projection of 120 liver specimens obtained at different distances from HCC from 11 patients. Each point of the scatterplot represents a liver specimen, and the distance between points is proportional to the overall dissimilarity of gene expression profiles.