Functional assays further showed that ZNF473 knockdown reduced cellular proliferation and migration, together with decreased levels of phosphorylated AKT (p-AKT), in liver tumor models.<h4>Conclusion</h4>These findings support the role of ZNF473 as a clinically relevant biomarker candidate across cancers and suggest its involvement in HCC progression, potentially through activation of the AKT signaling pathway. Here, AKT1 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.