We investigated the skewed effect potentially induced by AFP elevation and directly associated with liver cirrhosis per se, and then found that the mean log-transformed AFP level was comparable in the cirrhotic- and non-cirrhotic patients (1.42 ± 0.95 log10ng/ml vs. 1.36 ± 1.15 log10ng/ml, P = 0.427). Here, AFP is linked to cirrhosis of liver.