SOCS3 and hepatocellular carcinoma: RASSF1A and DAB2 showed coordinate regulation with SOCS1 and SOCS3. As promoter hypermethylation also represses SOCS1 and SOCS3, it is possible that epigenetic repression of both SOCS genes as well as the endogenous negative regulators the RAS-RAF-MAPK pathway likely contributes to their coordinate regulation that amplifies the proliferation and anti-apoptotic functions of this pathway, contributing to HCC pathogenesis.