Angio-TAMs promote tumor cell epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and angiogenesis and are associated with poor prognosis via a mechanism mediated by NF-kappa B signaling, Notch signaling or VEGF signaling pathways in many tumor types, including breast cancer, CRC, gastric carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) [7, 12–14]. Here, VEGFA is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.