In chronic HCV patients, the methylation frequency of tumor suppressor genes, such as HIC1, GSTP1, SOCS1, RASSF1, CDKN2A, APC, RUNX3 and PRDM2 are associated with shorter time-to-HCC, and the number of methylated genes is an independent risk factor for HCC (61). Here, RUNX3 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.