CD163 and hepatocellular carcinoma: For example, the positive inter-correlations observed in HCC patients and non-malignant cirrhotic patients between serum sCD163, IL-10, and IL-12 and their strong association with the transcriptional signatures of the peripheral Cldn1 and TGF-β genes support our theory about their role in liver cirrhosis/tumorigenesis in an orchestrated manner.