In addition to spontaneous RNA clearance, we assessed the associations between the 11polymorphismsnear IFNL3 and IFNL4 that were associated with spontaneous clearance and the risk of HCC among individuals with detectable HCV RNA (i.e. those not showing spontaneous HCV RNA clearance).In our analysis, we found that, among patients infected by HCV genotype 1, those who carried the alleles associated with less likelihood of spontaneous RNA clearance had an increased risk for HCC. This evidence concerns the gene IFNL3 and hepatocellular carcinoma.