EGR1 and hepatocellular carcinoma: It has been reported that HBx can induce NF-κB signaling in HCC [28, 29] and that tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, an NF-κB signaling activator, enhances EGR1 promotor activity [30, 31]; therefore, we hypothesized that HBx may increase EGR1 expression.