FN1 and hepatocellular carcinoma: In HCC, tumor cells grow embedded in a microenvironment with a high content of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, such as laminin, collagen, vitronectin and fibronectin, as a consequence of the development of cirrhosis.[37] Therefore, crossing the ECM barriers by tumor cells is regarded to be particularly important for metastatic progression of HCC.