However, although negative LA coefficients were also observed in HBV-positive HCC-patient samples, the non-tumor tissues of HBV-infected patients as well as tumor samples from non-infected patients showed a positive LA coefficient, suggesting that the interference of PTPN13 on the binding between the IGF2BP1 protein and c-Myc RNA is not only dependent on the expression levels of PTPN13, but also involves additional, difficult to identify, regulatory constraints (Figure 1D). This evidence concerns the gene IGF2BP1 and hepatocellular carcinoma.