Spearman's rank correlation analysis demonstrated that PBX3 mRNA levels were inversely correlated with those of miR-33a-3p (P < 0.0001, r = −0.6289, Figure 4G), confirming that miR-33a-3p is a negative regulator of PBX3 in HCC tissues. Here, PBX3 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.