EpCAM is a well-established cancer stemness surface marker in HCC and can be induced by Wnt/β-catenin signalling.12,22–25 A specific hepatic stem cell-like subtype of EpCAM+ cells, but not an MH subtype of HCCs, was found to overexpress SALL4, a transcription factor that is known to regulate stemness in embryonic and haematopoietic stem cells, and further functional studies indicated a role for SALL4 in promoting cancer stemness in HCC.6 This evidence concerns the gene EPCAM and cancer.