Identification of molecular transition of hepatocellular carcinoma: a novel method to predict the initiation of metastasis

Although the most frequently diagnosed cancers and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths vary across the country, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the major cancers and the fourth-leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally following lung, colorectal, and stomach cancers (1). As the majority of liver cancers are associated with hepatitis viruses, alcoholic abuse, and metabolic syndrome leading to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, a careful check-up of high-risk patients is useful for early diagnosis.