CGAS and hepatocellular carcinoma: In the present study, we selected 14 genes, including TLR9, ZBP1, AIM2, IFI16, PRKDC, DHX9, DHX36, DDX41, DDX60, cGAS, MRE11, HNRNPA2B1, LRRFIP1 and POLR3A, as DNA sensors [13–16], and downloaded corresponding gene expression files and clinical data of HCC patients from TCGA-LIHC, HCCDB18 and GSE76427 datasets.