The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of the rs12979860 SNP upstream of the IL28B gene in a well-phenotyped population of chronically HCV-infected patients covering the whole spectrum of disease severity, from null-mild fibrosis to hepatocellular carcinoma, to elucidate whether this polymorphic trait may be related with the course of chronic HCV infection. This evidence concerns the gene IFNL3 and hepatocellular carcinoma.