The genes repressed in both GE1-HCC and GE2-HCC included those with supposed tumour-inhibiting activity, e.g. CXCL14, CCBE1, IGFBP1, RND3, BMP10 and COLEC10, which encode proteins involved in extracellular matrix remodelling, migration and the immune response. Here, CCBE1 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.