AFP and hepatocellular carcinoma: To date, many biomarkers have been proposed in the diagnosis and prognosis of HCC, such as alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), Lens culinaris-agglutinin-reactive fraction of AFP (AFP-L3), protein induced by vitamin K absence orantagonist-II (PIVKA-II), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), hypoxia-inducible factor (Hif), and so on [48].