Could metabolic syndrome lead to hepatocarcinoma via non-alcoholic fatty liver disease?

Table 2 Principal risk factors for developing hepatocellular carcinoma, epidemiological evidence

Risk factors for HCC	Incidence of HCC	Epidemiology
NAFLD	1%-2% overall[19]	The prevalence of NAFLD in the general population of Western countries is 20%-30%[20]
NASH	4%-27% overall[21]	About 2%-3% of the general population is estimated to have NASH[20]
HBV	3%-8% overall[22]	Two billion people worldwide have been exposed to HBV, and 400 million people have chronic HBV infection[24]
	0%-5% per year[23]
HCV	1%-7% overall[25]	About 150 million people worldwide are infected with HCV[28]
	2%-8% per year[26,27]
Alcohol	1%-2% per year in cirrhotics[29]	The WHO reports about two billion alcohol consumers worldwide and 76.3 million people with diagnosable alcohol use disorders[30]

HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; NAFLD: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; WHO: World Health Organization.