LGALS1 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Gal-1 can trigger epithelial–mesenchymal transition: a critical phase in the development of cancer in human cells, and a major pathway of sorafenib resistance [37], Multiple studies have reported the involvement of Gal-1 in metastatic potential, and the impact of Gal-1 knockdown on treatment sensitivity in HCC [38, 39], as well as other forms of cancer [40–42].