Out of the 236 cases, 194 (82.2%) had higher ATF3 protein expression in HCC tissues while 236 (100%) adjacent non-cancerous liver tissues had higher ATF3 protein expression (P = 0.000), 113 (47.88%) had higher CYR61 protein expression in HCC tissues while 204 (86.44%) adjacent non-cancerous liver tissues had higher CYR61 protein expression (P = 0.000). Here, CCN1 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.