CCN2 and liver cancer: The pre-malignant lesions in Otulin∆hep livers were accompanied by a dramatic increase in serum levels of the liver cancer marker AFP (Fig. 4c) as well as the expression of many cancer-associated genes, including the HCC markers Ccnd1, Ctgf, Gpc3, and Igf2; the onco-foetal markers Afp and H19; and the cancer stem cell markers Klf4, Aldh1, and Cd133/Prom1 (Fig. 4d).