Taken Wnt signaling pathway as an example, TP53, CTNNB1 and AXIN1 are important elements in Wnt signaling network; CTNNB1 is more frequently mutated in HCV-infected hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)62, while the mutations of TP53 and AXIN1 are more frequent in HBV-infected HCC63,64, which indicated different viral etiologies might activate Wnt signaling in distinct ways. Here, AXIN1 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.