At last, we established an HCC xenograft model using nude mice to verify our data in vivo, and found that Hep3B cells overexpressing Linc‐smad7 led to markedly larger tumours (Lv‐Linc‐smad7 group) than control vector cells (Lv‐control group) (p < 0.05, Figure 7D and E). Here, SMAD7 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.