Additionally, the median VAF of baseline ctDNA > 1% demonstrated a powerful predictive performance for early tumor recurrence before treatment (HR, 3.1; P = 0.038; Fig. 3A,B), while for common serum tumor markers and tumor recurrence predictors, we also noticed the significant correlations between elevated preoperative AFP (HR, 4.9; P = 0.049) or the presence of MVI (HR, 6.9; P = 0.036) and early recurrence (Fig. S7B,C). Here, AFP is linked to neoplasm.