HGF and hepatocellular carcinoma: The essential role of the HGF-MET cellular pathway has been further established following observations on MET-null mutant mice embryos, with malformation of liver, placenta,[7] melanocytes,[51] and testis.[52] Meanwhile, it has been observed that overexpression of MET can have an oncogenic potential by itself and can induce hepatocellular carcinoma in liver cells [53].