PNPLA3 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Among these noted genetic variants, evidence shows that the human PNPLA3 gene rs738409 C>G polymorphism (PNPLA3 rs738409/I148M) has a strong correlation to increased MASLD severity, including hepatic steatosis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (Romeo et al., 2008; Sookoian and Pirola, 2011; Sookoian et al., 2009; Valenti et al., 2010; Liu et al., 2014; Dong, 2019; Dongiovanni et al., 2013).