KDR and hepatocellular carcinoma: The activation of VEGF/VEGFR‐2 signaling induces the phosphorylation of various downstream signal transduction mediators, including protein kinase B (AKT) and mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK), which play a central role in tumor angiogenesis by promoting endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and tube formation in HCC.