The results revealed that low expression of Cezanne (P < 0.001), high AFP level (P = 0.016), high GGT level (P = 0.001), liver cirrhosis (P = 0.006), larger tumor size (P < 0.001) and vascular invasion (P < 0.001) were unfavourable predictors for OS of HCC patients. Here, AFP is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.