Various risk factors lead to the occurrence of HCC, such as hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, alcohol (ethanol), non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), carcinogen/toxin exposure, genetic factors, etc.19The expression of the NKG2D ligands might serve as indicators of cellular stress, which could be induced by the viral infection or malignant transformation.20 Here, KLRK1 is linked to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.