TEK and hepatocellular carcinoma: Second, targeting Tie-2, the receptor for Ang-1 and Ang-2, promote microvascular stability and decrease angiogenesis, and a selective Ang-2 inhibitor has been shown to reduce vascular growth by 46% and tumor size by 62% over a period of 26 days in preclinical models, demonstrating the role of this signaling pathway in HCC progression and further establishing angiopoietin as a potential target for therapy development (Table 2) [51].