PNPLA3 and hepatocellular carcinoma: The PNPLA3 I148M variant is also associated with increased risk of fibrosis progression and HCC in alcoholic liver disease and hepatitis C-related cirrhosis and independent of steatosis [27,28], suggesting a potential direct contribution of the variant to fibrogenesis and carcinogenesis that are unrelated to intrahepatic triglyceride accumulation [31].