Wang Q, et al. - A meta-analysis was undertaken to determine the relationship between CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) status and clinicopathological features in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. In HCC, CIMP+ was noted to have significant association with distant metastasis, TNM tumor stage IIII + IV, cirrhosis and a higher level of AFP (>300 ng/ml) than those with CIMP-. Findings there suggest CIMP have an independent association with significantly worse prognosis in HCC patients. Patients at higher risk for disease progression could thus be identified via examining CIMP status.