3-bromopyruvate (3-BrPA) is a promising antitumor agent which has recently been accepted for a Phase I clinical trial in liver cancer and has been reported to cause a covalent modification of HKII protein and directly triggered its dissociation from mitochondria, leading to a specific release of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) from the mitochondria to cytosol and eventual cell death38, 39. This evidence concerns the gene AIFM1 and liver cancer.