Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41340406›Full record

ArticleJournal of liver cancer2026

PNPLA3 I148M is unrelated to HCC occurrence but associates with poorer tumor differentiation in Korean MASLD: a prospective cohort of 562 patients.

Jaejun Lee, Dong Yeop Lee, Jung Hoon Cha, Hee Sun Cho, Keungmo Yang, Hyun Yang, Mi Young Byun, Seok Keun Cho, Seong Wook Yang, Si Hyun Bae and 1 more

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In one paragraph

Article in Journal of liver cancer, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Jaejun LeeDivision of Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Dong Yeop LeeDepartment of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Jung Hoon ChaThe Catholic University Liver Research Center, Department of Biomedicine & Health Sciences, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Hee Sun ChoDivision of Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Keungmo YangDivision of Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Hyun YangDivision of Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Mi Young ByunXenohelix Research Institute, Incheon, Korea.
Seok Keun ChoXenohelix Research Institute, Incheon, Korea.
Seong Wook YangDepartment of Systems Biology, Yonsei University College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Seoul, Korea.
Si Hyun BaeDivision of Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Pil Soo SungDivision of Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.

Funding

Internal Research Fund of the Korean Liver Cancer AssociationKorean Association for the Study of the Liver RS-2024-00337298Ministry of Science and ICTNational Research Foundation of Korea RS-2023-00208767National Research Foundation of Korea RS-2024-00337298National Research Foundation of Korea RS-2024-00438542
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUNDS/

aimsThe patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein 3 (PNPLA3) I148M variant has been implicated in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), but its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development is unclear. This study examines the association between the PNPLA3 I148M variant and HCC occurrence.

methodsA total of 562 MASLD patients, with and without HCC, were prospectively and consecutively enrolled at two universityaffiliated hospital between June 2024 and June 2025. Genomic DNA was extracted from buccal swabs or liver biopsy samples, and single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping was performed to determine the rs738409 genotype at codon 148 of PNPLA3. The histological grade of HCC was assessed using the Edmondson-Steiner (ES) grading system in patients who underwent core-needle liver biopsy.

resultsAmong 474 non-HCC patients, the GG genotype was found in 39.9%, GC in 37.1%, and CC in 23.0%. In 88 HCC patients, these frequencies were 45.5%, 36.4%, and 18.2%, respectively. No significant differences in GG genotype distribution were observed between HCC and non-HCC groups (P=0.509), nor in subgroups by sex, age, obesity status, cirrhosis status, fibrosis-4 index, or liver stiffness measurement. However, among HCC patients with histological grading, the GG genotype was significantly associated with higher ES grades (P=0.0076).

conclusionsThe PNPLA3 I148M GG genotype was not significantly associated with increased HCC occurrence in Korean MASLD patients within the present cohort. Although the GG genotype is known to play a role in development and progression of MASLD, further studies are warranted to clarify its contribution to tumor initiation and dedifferentiation.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, hepatocellularNeoplasm gradingNon-alcoholic fatty liver diseasePNPLA3

Identifiers

PMID41340406
PMCPMC13062583

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.