(Paradis et al., 2009; Alexander et al., 2013) Interestingly, pathologically activated STAT1 signaling promotes inflammation and fibrosis in high-fat diet fed mice, while enhanced IL-6-STAT3 signaling is instrumental in eliciting tumor development, reaffirming previous findings describing an essential role for the IL-6-STAT3 axis in obesity-related HCC. Here, STAT3 is linked to obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency.