Abstract: Objective To establish specific molecular marker profiles of aflatoxin B₁（AFB₁）-related hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC）by comparing protein expression profiles between AFB₁-related and non-AFB₁-related HCC in the FuSui area of Guangxi. Method A total of 24 patients with AFB₁-related HCC and 16 patients with non-AFB₁-related HCC group were analyzed by isobaric tagging reagent （iTRAQ） quantitative proteomics together with 2DLC-MS/MS in order to identify differences in protein expression levels.In parallel，normal liver tissue from 10 patients who were liver donors，who had hepatic hemangioma or who had undergone liver resection was analyzed as a control. Results A total of 88 unique proteins were identified that were ≥2-fold overexpressed（51 proteins） or≤0.5-fold underexpressed（37 proteins） in AFB₁-related HCC tissue relative to control tissue.Of the 88 proteins，50 were expressed at similar levels in AFB₁-related HCC and non-AFB₁-related HCC tissue，while 38 were associated with pathological features.Based on gene ontology analysis， most of the 88 proteins are predicted to play roles as binding proteins and catalysts.Most are located in the cytoplasm，nucleus or mitochondria，and most are involved in detoxification，drug metabolism and anti-apoptotic pathways. Conclusions This study has identified several differentially expressed proteins associated with AFB₁-related HCC in the FuSui area of Guangxi，which may provide clues to understanding AFB₁-related hepatocarcinogenesis in this part of the world.

Key words: Liver neoplasm, Aflatoxin B₁, Roteomics, iTRAQ