C3G could prevent diethylnitrosamine and acetamidofluorene-induced rat HCC precancerous lesions by regulating the autophagy protein ATG16L1 and its ceRNA network (circ0001345/miR-106b/ATG16L1), improving hepatic function and histopathological damage, thereby offering potential against HCC (Zabady et al., 2022). Here, ATG16L1 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.