It has a well-known dual effect in cancer and is no exception for HCC.286 For normal tissues, TGF-β signaling inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis or differentiation by blocking cells at the G1 phase or prolonging the G1 phase, thus acting as a tumor suppressor in precancerous cells.285 In the early stages of carcinogenesis, TGF-β inhibits tumorigenic inflammation or triggers apoptosis in precancerous progenitor cells carrying RAS mutations. The gene discussed is TGFB1; the disease is neoplasm.