Host interleukin-28B (IL28B) genotype is associated with spontaneous clearance of acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, response to interferon (IFN)-based treatment, and with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) (Thomas et al. 2009; Ge et al. 2009; Zhang et al. 2016). Here, IFNA1 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.