Objective：To study the expression of MyD88 and STAT3 in hepatocellular cancer (HCC) tissues and its signicficance.
Methods：S-P immunohistological assay was applied to detect the expression of MyD88 and STAT3 protein in specimens from hepatocellular carcinoma tissues and adjacent liver tissues of 82 HCC cases. Correlation analysis was used to determine the relation of MyD88 and STAT3 with the clinicopathological data.
Results：The positive rate of MyD88 and STAT3 expression was 67.1% and 69.5% respectively in 82 hepatocellular carcinoma tissues, which were significantly higher than the positive rate (11% and 8.5% respectively) in adjacent tissues（P＜0.05). STAT3 expression was positively correlated with MyD88 (r=0.578，P=0.002).  MyD88 and STAT3 expression were correlated with patient′s gender, differitiation of HCC, HBV infection and cirrhosis (P＜0.05), but not with lumor size, venous invasion (P>0.05).
Conclusions：MyD88 and STAT3 genes are significantly over expressed in HCC tissues and may promote the initiation and development of HCC by cell proliferation and immune escape.