Contrary to the traditional view of decreased E-cadherin and increased N-cadherin, the strong correlation between N-cadherin and E-cadherin suggests that the conventional epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) model may not be applicable for characterizing hepatocellular carcinoma, but its applicability to cholangiocarcinoma remains to be explored. This evidence concerns the gene CDH2 and hepatocellular carcinoma.