The PTEN/AKT/mTOR pathway is one of the critical oncogenic pathways in HCC and participates in the regulation of cell proliferation, glycolysis, stemness and invasion (Liu et al., 2018; Dou et al., 2019; Dou et al., 2020; Wang L. et al., 2021). Here, MTOR is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.