Some reports in gastric cancer, liver cancer, and other tumors have found that upregulation of the DIP2A–FSTL1 signaling axis correlates with poor prognosis or greater tumor aggressiveness, implying that this axis may enhance tumor cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, thereby accelerating disease progression (Kudo-Saito et al., 2024). This evidence concerns the gene FSTL1 and liver cancer.