FGF2 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Previous studies have revealed that miR-33a-5p can target multiple genes, such as carnitine O-octanoyltransferase (CROT) [50], PTGS2 [40], PNMA family member 1 (PNMA1) [51], and Wnt inhibitors Dickkopf-1 (DKK1) [37] et al. Presently, we confirmed that FGF2 is a direct target of miR-33a-5p, and MCF2L-AS1 enhances FGF2 level by directly targeting miR-33a-5p, and the MCF2L-AS1-miR-33a-5p-FGF2 axis is a potential diagnostic and therapy target in HCC.