Burza and colleagues performed a matched, prospective, controlled, interventional trial to investigate the association of the PNPLA3 I148M genetic variant with hepatocellular carcinoma in obese individuals. The study included a cohort of patients undergoing bariatric surgery (surgery group) or receiving conventional treatment (control group). A significantly higher incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in individuals carrying the PNPLA3 I148M genetic variant was found in the control group.