In cohort A, in differentiating HCC from LC, the AUC of DCP (0.837, 95% CI 0.789–0.885) was better than that of AFP (0.781, 95% CI 0.726–0.836), and the combination of these two markers increased the AUC further to 0.865 (95% CI 0.822–0.909) (Fig 4C, Table 1). Here, AFP is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.