As exemplified in the forest plots shown in (Figure S3) for the pooled data concerning the association between TERT*(rs2736098 and rs2736100) variants and HCC progression, our team revealed a strong association for the TERT*(rs2736098; c.915G > A) variant with elevated risk of HCC under dominant model (OR = 1.37, p-value = 0.041). This evidence concerns the gene TERT and hepatocellular carcinoma.