Our transcriptome analysis on HCC patients shows a stepwise increase in ITGA2 expression along the hepatocellular carcinogenic process, and patients co-expressing ITGA2 and YAP-targeted genes including AXL, CCND1, CTGF, GPC3, IGF1R, SOX4, were found to show more dismal prognosis after hepatic surgery. Here, AXL is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.