AFP and hepatocellular carcinoma: The major findings of this study were as follows: 1) the adaptive AFP variation cutoff point to predict prognosis was a 46% reduction, 2) the AFP response (a decline of more than 46% from baseline within 2 months after the initiation of combination therapy) was associated with longer OS in patients with advanced-stage HCC who were treated with sorafenib in combination with TACE, and 3) the AFP response could predict the overall survival at an earlier time point compared to radiological assessment, particularly in circumstances in which radiological evaluation could not be performed.