Notably, overexpression of P300 in HCC tumors was related to AFP ≥20 ng/ml (χ2 = 8.586; P = 0.003), TNM stage III–IV (χ2 = 6.955; P = 0.008) and medium/poor differentiation (χ2 = 16.984; P < 0.001), while overexpression of aPKC-ι was related to tumor size >5 cm (χ2 = 14.226; P < 0.001), AFP ≥20 ng/ml (χ2 = 10.283, P = 0.001), vascular invasion (χ2 = 4.743, P = 0.029), TNM stage III-IV (χ2 = 6.610; P = 0.010) and medium/poor differentiation (χ2 = 14.032, P < 0.001; Supplementary Tables 1 and 2). Here, AFP is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.