STAT4 and hepatocellular carcinoma: The results of gender subgroup analysis showed (Table 4) that only STAT4 rs11889341 had a significant association with the reduction in HCC risk among male participants (allele: OR = 0.81, CI = 0.66–1.01, P=0.033; homozygote: OR = 0.59, CI = 0.35–1.01, P=0.013; recessive: OR = 0.63, CI = 0.38–1.06, P=0.042; log-additive: OR = 0.81, CI = 0.65–1.01, P=0.041).