Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Solid data suggest that the epidemiology of HCC is changing; while the frequencies of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-and hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related HCC are progressively decreasing owing to the development of nucleo(t)side-based therapies and directly acting antiviral agents, respectively, the frequency of cryptogenic HCC continues to increase (15–30％ of cases) (1). The rise of cryptogenic HCC is mainly related to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (1,2). NAFLD encompasses a wide spectrum of liver injuries, ranging from steatosis to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which may progress to cirrhosis (1,3).