In this study, we found that the ERCC1 promoter rs2298881 CA heterozygote decreased the HCC risk by a 0.64-fold, which was consistent with the report by Yu et al. It was reported that the variant allele of this rs2298881 down-regulated ERCC1 promoter activity, down-regulated transcription factor binding activity, and thus decreased ERCC1 protein expression with a subsequent decrease in the cancer risk [17]. Here, ERCC1 is linked to cancer.