CXCL8 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Statistical analysis showed that the expression of E-Cadherin and β-catenin significantly correlated with the level of IL-8 in HCC samples (Rcad = 0.299, Pcad = 0.002 for E-Cadherin; Rcat = 0.247, Pcat = 0.020 for β-catenin) which implied that up-regulated expression of IL-8 after dysfunctional activation of the NTS/IL-8 pathway might promote EMT in HCC cells.