Three polymorphisms in the IL‑23R gene (rs10889677, rs1884444 and rs11465817) were examined in 84 cases of chronic hepatitis B (HBV), 67 cases of HBV‑related liver cirrhosis, 89 cases of HBV‑related HCC and 94 healthy controls using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)‑restriction fragment length polymorphism method and DNA sequencing.