ALKAL1 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Among the 18 genes, six genes including FAM150A, TCF21, EOMES, ATF5, DPT, and ECM1 were frequently downregulated in 85%, 85%, 35%, 60%, 50%, and 60% of the 20 HCC samples, respectively, compared with non-HCC samples (Additional file 2: Figure S7).