Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deathsworldwide, with a 5-year survival rate of only 20%. 2019 statistics reveal that HCC had thegreatest increase in mortality rates, as compared to any other disease site. Many factors cancontribute to the development of HCC such as viral infection, alcoholism, metabolic disordersand obesity. Advanced stages of HCC have no effective treatments available. A recentserendipitous discovery in our lab has shown that a protein known as Spy1 can enhanceproliferation of liver cells and promotes the development of HCC. This project will focus onelucidating how Spy1 contributes to this disease and the Porter lab will determine whetherthis can be a novel therapeutic intervention for patients with HCC.