Golgi protein-73 (GP73) is a type II Golgi transmembrane protein found significantly elevated in hepatocytes affected by chronic liver diseases and HCC (Gatselis et al. 2020), which acts as a driver oncogene, initiating intra- and intercellular signaling cascades such as JAK2/STAT3 and ER stress that enhance the angiogenesis and aggressiveness and reshape the tumor microenvironment of HCC (Chen et al. 2015; Wei et al. 2019; Ye et al. 2024). This evidence concerns the gene STAT3 and neoplasm.