The molecular mechanism is that POSTN regulates the stemness of heat-exposed residual HCC cells through integrin β1/AKT/glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β)/β-catenin/transcription factor 4 (TCF4)/Nanog signaling pathway (Zhang et al., 2017). The gene discussed is TCF4; the disease is hepatocellular carcinoma.