Studies have shown that patients who develop citrin deficiency or adult-onset type II citrullinemia due to SLC25A13 gene mutation are prone to steatosis, NASH and even hepatocellular carcinoma (Takagi et al., 2006; Tsai et al., 2006; Komatsu et al., 2008); therefore, the role of SLC25A13 in metabolic diseases may be worthy of further study. This evidence concerns the gene SLC25A13 and hepatocellular carcinoma.