Unexpectedly, we also observed gradual upregulation of KIAA1114 expression in KIAA1114low fractions, yielding contradictory results from previous reports of EpCAM and CD24 where EpCAM− and CD24− HCC fractions maintained their low marker expression status for 2 weeks in culture, respectively [8, 27]. Here, TRO is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.