TP53 and hepatocellular carcinoma: While HBcAg is the principal target for immune mediated cytolysis and is often employed as a marker of HBV infection within cells, HBx may be more relevant to the pathogenesis of HCC in that it possesses transcriptional transregulatory properties that include modulating the transcriptional activation of p53, interruption of apoptosis, inhibiting proteasomal degradation of growth regulatory proteins, and stimulating cellular kinases that alter signal transduction [7].