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Page 6 of 7 Tian et al. Hepatoma Res 2018;4:27 I http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-5079.2018.24

However, there are several limitations of the study that need to be addressed in further studies. Firstly, the
further verification needs to be conducted. A series of large-scale studies are needed to verify the associations
between the eQTL in PVT1 and the HCC prognosis. Secondly, there was few biological functional experiments
conducted to provide additional evidence.

In conclusion, it was the first study to examine the association of PVT1 eQTL with HCC prognosis. We
found that rs4733586 might be served as a susceptibility marker for HCC survival.

DECLARATIONS
Authors’ contributions
SNP selection and genotype: Ge ZJ , Yu CX
Data acquisition: Song C, Pu ZN
Statistical analysis: Tian T, Song C
Manuscript preparation: all authors
Critical revision and finalizing of the manuscript: Song C, Hu ZB

Availability of data and materials
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding
author on reasonable request.

Financial support and sponsorship
This work was supported by grants from the National Key Basic Research Program Grant (2013CB911400);
Cheung Kong Scholars Programme of China; Jiangsu Specially-Appointed Professor project; the
Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (Public Health
and Preventive Medicine) and Top-notch Academic Programs Project of Jiangsu Higher Education
Institutions (PPZY2015A067). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection, data analysis and
interpretation, writing of the report, or the decision to submit the article for publication.

Conflicts of interest
All authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval and consent to participate
This study was authorized by the local institutional review board at Nanjing Medical University. All the
participants gave written informed consent.

Consent for publication
Not applicable.

Copyright
© The Author(s) 2018.

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