As we also observed CCRK up-regulation in male HFHC-fed mice (Supplementary Fig. 1a) and NAFLD patients (Supplementary Fig. 6c), the IL-6/STAT3 and androgen/AR crosstalk in CCRK activation may explain why obese men are at greater risk of developing HCC. The gene discussed is IL6; the disease is metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.