VCAN and hepatocellular carcinoma: Moreover, previous studies have suggested that LF is an inevitable stage in the progression of CHB to HBV-associated liver cancer, also known as the “hepatitis trilogy.” Interestingly, compared with paracancerous tissue, the expression level of VCAN was significantly upregulated in HCC tissue (Tanaka et al., 2018; Zhangyuan et al., 2020).