Moreover, the combined treatment of sorafenib and 3-HAA markedly down-regulated the expression of ALDH, SOX2, and OCT4 in PLC8024 and SMMC-7721 cells while sorafenib alone did not significantly reduce protein levels of these HCC stemness markers (Fig. 5B). The gene discussed is POU5F1; the disease is hepatocellular carcinoma.