SLC1A5 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Recent interests have focused on amino acid transport and utilization in the field of tumor cell metabolism [9]: SLC1A5, alanine/serine/cysteine transporter 2, is upregulated in various cancers [10, 11]; SLC7A5, high affinity transporter of many neutral amino acids, is significantly upregulated in pancreatic cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma [12]; SLC7A11 mediates the influx of cystine, accompanied by the efflux of glutamate, and its upregulation protects cancer cells from oxidative stress [13, 14].