AXL and hepatocellular carcinoma: Notably, AXL overexpression triggered metastatic colonization of epithelial hepatoma cells in vivo. Immunohistochemical analysis of AXL expression in tumor tissues collected from 133 HCC patients demonstrated a correlation of increased AXL expression with advanced tumor stages, augmented vessel invasion of HCC cells, elevated risk of cancer relapse after liver transplantation, and a poor clinical prognosis (48).