MT1B and hepatocellular carcinoma: A significant association between several bacterial genera and metallothionein 1B (MT1B), a scavenger of reactive oxygen species (ROS), was found in liver samples from HCC patients, suggesting that bacterial translocation to the liver, arising from an impaired gut barrier, determines the perturbation of gene expression in the liver, including genes with antioxidant functions which are well-known players during hepatocarcinogenesis.