Signal transducer and activator of transcriptions (STATs)—at the crossroads of obesity-linked non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma

The obesity pandemic is widely regarded as major health challenge for modern society. This multi-organ disorder is linked to the development of a number of prevalent diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular and liver diseases, including primary liver cancer (1). The hepatic manifestations of obesity are collectively called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (2).