We found that ADAM8 was approximately 14‐fold up‐regulated in precancerous cells (n = 4 cell lines, P < .0001, dataset 294) and even 52‐fold up‐regulated in malignant hepatoma cells (n = 4 cell lines, P < .0001, dataset 292), when compared to basal expression in primary hepatocytes of the same genetic background. Here, ADAM8 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.