In our study, the three BRIP1 variants that we found in association with HCC risk are proxy to the BLM (Bloom's syndrome protein) domain that overlaps with the BRIP1 Ser-990 phosphorylation site, raising the hypothesis that the protein interaction of BRIP1 with BLM is affected by phosphoSer-990 [24, 30]. Here, BLM is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.