MTOR and hepatocellular carcinoma: Although several signaling pathways have been consistently found dysregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (e.g., WNT-β-catenin, PI3K/AKT/MTOR, RAS/MAPK, IGF, HGF/MET, VEGF, EGFR, and PDGF) [4], the incomplete understanding of the molecular mechanism of HCC contributes poor overall prognosis in HCC patients [5].