Next, we determined whether NR4A1 alone had some effects on TRAIL‐induced apoptosis in HCC cells, because a recent study reported that TNF‐α rapidly induces NR4A1 expression in breast cancer cells.19 To test whether TRAIL has a similar ability to induce NR4A1 expression in hepatoma cells, we treated LH86 and Huh7 cells with TRAIL and examined NR4A1 expression by Western blot. This evidence concerns the gene NR4A1 and hepatocellular carcinoma.