Specifically, DEL-1 mediates the activation of TGF-β and ERK signaling, promoting epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and angiogenesis, a critical step that can contribute to the distant metastasis of tumor cells in hepatocellular carcinoma (Xia et al., 2015; Jeong et al., 2017). The gene discussed is EDIL3; the disease is neoplasm.