While the non-catalytic function may clear cancer cells at early cancerous stages or within the established cancer tissues wherever glucose starvation occurs, e.g., in the central area of HCCs, the catalytic function, often coming from the PHGDH overexpression during HCC progression, promotes serine synthesis to support the growth of tumor when glucose supply is abundant. This evidence concerns the gene PHGDH and hepatocellular carcinoma.