Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) occurs mainly in the liver associated with chronic hepatitis and hepatic cirrhosis as a result of prolonged viral infection. Transforming growth factor-b (TGF-b) induces the fibrosis in hepatic cirrhosis, although it is also an inhibitor of hepatocyte proliferation. To understand the role of TGF-b signaling in HCC progression, we analyzed gene expression in HCC cells in relation to TGF-b signaling using a two-way clustering algorithm. By the analysis, five HCC cell lines were classified into two groups according to their metastatic capacity. TGF-b receptor II (TGFBR2) was downregulated in metastatic cells, which did not show a response to TGF-b. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated clear membrane distribution of TGFBR2 in noncancerous hepatocytes, whereas reduced TGFBR2 expression was observed in 34 of 136 HCCs. In clinical cases, reduced TGFBR2 expression correlated with larger tumor size (Po0.001), poor differentiation (Po0.001), portal vein invasion (P ¼ 0.002), intrahepatic metastasis (IM) (Po0.001), and shorter recurrence-free survival (P ¼ 0.022). In conclusion, reduced TGFBR2 expression was associated with aggressive features of HCC such as IM, and may represent an immunohistochemical biomarker to detect aggressive HCC. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common cause of death from cancer worldwide. 1 Prolonged infection with hepatitis virus often causes chronic hepatitis, followed by liver cirrhosis. 2 During the development of these liver diseases, transforming growth factor-b (TGF-b) has an important role in fibrosis of the lesions. 3 HCCs mainly occur in those injured livers with activated TGF-b signaling, although TGF-b inhibits hepatocyte cell growth in the normal liver. 4,5 TGF-b signaling is activated when a TGF-b ligand binds to its receptor on the cell membrane. The downstream effectors, SMAD2 and SMAD3, together with SMAD4, translocate to the nucleus and regulate the expression of various genes, including cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (CDKN1A), which is involved in cell growth arrest. 6,7 TGF-b signaling is also suggested to be involved in the malignant progression of tumors. TGF-b can induce epithelial-mesenchymal transition and promote tumor cell invasion, and may also have angiogenic and immunosuppressive effects on the tumor microenvironment, all of which promote metastasis. 8 Mutations in the TGF-b superfamily genes have been found in various cancers. The TGF-b receptor II (TGFBR2) gene is frequently mutated in colon cancers, 9,10 gastric cancers, 10,11 and in gliomas 12 with microsatellite instability. SMAD4 mutations occur mainly in pancreatic cancers, in which the SMAD4 gene was first identified as a tumorsuppressor gene. 13 In HCCs, however, mutations in TGF-b superfamily genes are rare, 14,15 and alteration of TGF-b signaling is still unclear and controversial. To investigate alterations of TGF-b signaling in HCC progression, we compared the expression profiles of TGF-b signalingrelated genes in HCC cells exhibiting different metastatic potential. We...