More significantly, there was the opposite trend between the serum levels and hepatic activity levels of caspase-1: compared with the normal control, the serum levels of caspase-1 were reduced in CHB, ACLF, LC and HCC patients and lowest in ACLF patients; in addition, the hepatic activity of caspase-1 was also lower in ACLF patients than in any of the other groups. Here, CASP1 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.