Kong et al. (2012) found that the expression level of HIF-1α was upregulated in heat-treated HCC cells. Also, a stronger pro-angiogenic effect was observed in heat-treated HCC cells (Kong et al., 2012). Importantly, this effect could be inhibited by HIF-1a inhibitor YC-1 (Kong et al., 2012). This evidence concerns the gene HIF1A and hepatocellular carcinoma.