BIRC5 and hepatocellular carcinoma: As a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family,[34, 35] survivin is known as a dual role protein which directly regulates both apoptosis and mitosis in cancer cells during tumorigenesis and tumor metastasis.[34, 35]Survivin is highly expressed in almost all cancers including HCC, but it is undetectable in normal adult tissues.