Adrian et al. [46] reported that the baseline AFP concentration was ≥ 20 ng/mL in 191 of 1145 patients (16.6%) with advanced chronic hepatitis C without HCC; simultaneously, the mean AFP values were also significantly higher in cirrhosis than in bridging fibrosis (22.5 vs. 11.4 ng/mL). Here, AFP is linked to chronic hepatitis C virus infection.