GRHL2 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Moreover, GRHL2 up regulates the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene during cellular immortalization of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells [29]; it is a proto-oncogene in breast cancer cells [25]; it regulates proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells [30] and is a suppressor of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in breast cancer [31].