Mani et al. (2016) reported that EPCAM might be an hCSC-like gene signature in HBV associated HCCs. In addition, the expression of CD133, CD34, and alpha fetal protein (AFP) rather than EPCAM were significantly higher in HCC compared to paired non-HCC tissue, indicating the activation of hepatic stem cells compartment during hepatocellular carcinogenosis in the HBV-transgenic mouse model (Anfuso et al., 2018). This evidence concerns the gene AFP and hepatocellular carcinoma.