TGFB1 and hepatocellular carcinoma: In addition, a number of studies have uncovered several TGF-β-independent pathways involved in EMT activation in HCC and other cancers, including the recently reported role of phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor-4E (eIF4E) to promote EMT and metastasis via translational control of Snail and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3 [19].