Although YAP-dependent transcription factors are either pro-tumorigenic (for example, TEAD and CREB) or anti-tumorigenic (for example, Runx2 and p73), we believe the major roles of YAP in liver cancer cells are pro-tumorigenic because YAP is highly up-regulated in liver cancer tissues compared to the corresponding adjacent normal liver19; YAP knockout restricts liver development25; and YAP depletion leads to impaired transformative phenotypes in liver cancer cells28. This evidence concerns the gene RUNX2 and liver cancer.