HDGFL3 and hepatocellular carcinoma: HDGF is a widely-known cancerogenic protein in HCC, HDGF-related protein-3 (HRP-3) has been proved to promote the phosphorylation of mitogen activated kinase-like protein (MAPK) and extracellular regulated MAP kinase (ERK), leading to activated MAPK/ERK signaling pathway and facilitated HCC progression [119].