HGF and hepatocellular carcinoma: In a very recent HCC study, a series of cytokines, including the SCGFβ, IL-6, CCL2/MCP-1, CXCL1/GROα, CXCL8/IL-8, HGF, and VEGF, were secreted from peritumor tissue-derived fibroblasts and was shown to promote development of HCC by recruiting CSC and maintaining their stemness characteristic [24].