Further, this process is positively regulated by thyroid hormones, which is exploited to improve the prognosis of patients with HCC.13 However, other studies show that high levels of SPON2 are associated with poor prognosis of patients with prostate, hepatocellular and lung cancers.14, 15, 16 In colon cancer, SPON2 acts as a downstream effector of the product of the metastasis‐associated gene 1. Here, SPON2 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.