MMP3 and hepatocellular carcinoma: However, many gene promoters that were not previously linked to HCC showed differential methylation, including those involved in apoptosis (IRAK3, MYOD1), immune response (HLA-DQA2, GSTM2, IFNG), growth factor signaling (EGF, FGF6, IGF1R, NGFR), cell cycle regulation (CCND2), and metastasis (CDH17, MMP1, MMP3, MMP9) (Table S2).