In colorectal cancer patients (CRC), lesion MACC1 expression has been observed to be notably higher in tumours, and higher levels of MACC1 expression were remarkably associated with tumour metastasis and patient worse prognosis.2, 3 In addition to its clinical significance in CRC patients, the prognostic and diagnostic value of MACC1 was further solidified later in other malignancies such as hepatocellular cancer,4 gastric cancer.5 However, clinical relevance of peripheral plasma MACC1 levels was rather limited. Here, MACC1 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.