SOX9 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Notably, survival analysis identified CHST4 (log-rank P = 0.040), SOX9 (log-rank P = 0.018), and VCAN (log-rank P = 0.037) as prognostic biomarkers significantly correlated with overall survival in HCC patients (Figure 8B), implicating these genes as potential oncogenic drivers during fibrotic malignant transformation.