MTOR and hepatocellular carcinoma: Previous studies have shown that the occurrence of HCC not only involves the abnormal expression and mutation of multiple oncogenes (p53, ras, myc and PTEN), but also is regulated by multiple abnormally activated signal pathways (PI3K-AKT, MAPK, JAK/STAT, NF-κB, mTOR and Wnt/β- catenin) (147).