MICA and hepatocellular carcinoma: In genome-wide association studies of HCV-related HCC, the 5′-flanking region of MICA (MHC class I polypeptide-related sequence A gene) was identified as a susceptibility locus for HCC development, consistent with reduced levels of soluble MICA protein in subjects with the risk allele, supporting an anti-tumour role for this protein [72].