YBX1 and hepatocellular carcinoma: In addition to the overexpression of cytoplasm YB-1 and nuclear translocalization of phosphorylated YB-1 as prognostic and chemoresistance markers in several human malignancies based on immunohistochemistry (7, 9-11, 13, 43, 44), a recent study (18) described the presence of YB-1 in the serum of patients with malignancies and healthy individuals by Western blotting, and found that YB-1 protein complexes (molecular sizes >150, 50, and 30 kDa) were present in plasma samples, including healthy donors and patients with various cancers, such as HCC and rectal cancer.