BAMBI and hepatocellular carcinoma: BAMBI, a negative regulator of TGF-β activation, is thought to have a role in hepato-oncogenesis because the expression of BAMBI is aberrantly elevated in some HCCs relative to its expression in corresponding non-cancerous tissues.16 ctHBx mutants found in HCCs have been shown to confer a selective clonal advantage in preneoplastic or neoplastic hepatocytes through the abrogation of p53-mediated apoptosis, which contributes to hepatocellular carcinogenesis.9, 25 We speculated that functional ctHBx/HBx modulates the expression of BAMBI and TGF-β1, thereby influencing the development of HCC.