MDM2 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Interestingly, both mdm2 or wtp53 mRNA expression in HCC and the corresponding adjacent liver tissues were similar (mdm2: 0.012481 vs. 0.006154, p = 0.9077; wtp53: 0.001858 vs. 0.001858, p = 0.1141) (Fig. 1c).