PTGS2 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Hung et al. showed that pre-S deleted proteins could induce the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) through the activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) in human hepatoma cell lines, in transgenic mouse livers, and in GGHs in HCC patients, which enhanced anchorage-independent cell growth [39].