However, given the recent demonstrations of an influence of the underlying liver on HCC biology and prognosis [24,25], there may be effects of the liver on the HCC cells, either non-specifically (and the Liver Index parameters are merely reflections of that) or by direct interactions between bilirubin, albumin, GGTP and platelets (or cirrhosis, for which they are a surrogate marker) and HCC cells. Here, ALB is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.