As a result, in the 17 (10 unregulated and 7 downregulated expression in HCC tissues) hub genes, 13 genes (SMAD2, PTK2, MAPK1, HDAC1, CDC25A, IGFI, FOS, ESR1, EGFR, SOCS3, SP1, YY1 and JUNB) have been identified as an HCC-related gene. This evidence concerns the gene SOCS3 and hepatocellular carcinoma.