POSTN and hepatocellular carcinoma: Periostin (PN) is a secreted matrix glycoprotein, which has been reported to be closely related with the metastatic potential and prognosis of HCC after surgery [59]; Clusterin has been reported to promote the HCC metastasis via regulating TGF-β1-smad3 signaling and then induction of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process [60].