AFP and hepatocellular carcinoma: There are contrasting reports on the presence of anti-AFP T-cell responses and their association with clinical characteristics of patients, such as serum AFP concentration and the stage of disease in HCC patients (Ritter et al, 2004; Alisa et al, 2005; Ayaru et al, 2007; Butterfield et al, 2007; Evdokimova et al, 2007; Thimme et al, 2008).