LBP and hepatocellular carcinoma: With respect to the hepatic fibrosis pathways, DEGs of interest include TNF, TNFRSF1B, and LBP. TNF displayed higher expression in the TME (log2 fold change = 4.38), while its binding receptor TNFRSF1B displayed higher expression in the HCC tumor (log2 fold change = −2.25).