In cohort A, the AUC of DCP for distinguishing HCC from all controls was 0.886 (95% CI 0.855–0.917, sensitivity 82.63%, specificity 89.12%) at a cutoff value of 40 mAU/ml, and the AUC of AFP was 0.879 (95% CI 0.850–0.907, sensitivity 67.8%, specificity of 91.23%; Fig 2A) at a cutoff value of 20 ng/ml; in cohort B, the AUC of DCP and AFP was0.914 (95% CI 0.885–0.943, sensitivity 80.5%, specificity 95.14%; Fig 2B, Table 1) and 0.814 (95% CI 0.777–0.852, sensitivity 62%, specificity of 87.85%), respectively. Here, AFP is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.