TGFB1 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Additionally, signaling pathways linked to HCC include those involving the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade, the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) cascade, the WNT-β-catenin pathway, the insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF1) pathway, and the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) pathway [16, 17].