HPSE and hepatocellular carcinoma: On the other hand, several other studies showed the mRNA expression levels of HPSE gene were significantly higher in primary HCC tissues compared with the non-cancer tissues and/or normal controls, and the increased expression of HPSE mRNA was correlated with larger tumor size, poor tumor grade, portal vein invasion, tumor microvessel density, and post-operative metastasis in HCC [26], [27].