TF and alcohol abuse: However, for two glycoproteins, glycosylation is included as a biomarker in routine clinical diagnostics, namely carbohydrate-deficient transferrin for the detection of CDG and alcohol abuse, and fucosylated serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP-L3) for the early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (Li et al 2001; Leerapun et al 2007).