IGFBP3 and hepatocellular carcinoma: In preclinical setting, IGFBP3 has been demonstrated to induce a significant reduction of cell proliferation and invasion, in several human HCC cell lines (HAK-1B, KIM-1, KYN-2 and HepG2), through the reduction of the bioavailability of endogenous IGF2 for cell surface receptor binding[150,151].