AFP and hepatocellular carcinoma: The above three types of biomarkers all play important roles in the future composite biomarker: an imaging biomarker examining early changes of tumor vessel perfusion and vascularity in HCC tumors, a circulating biomarker measuring the speed of AFP/PIVKA-II reduction, and tumor-derived biomarkers showing high expression of PD-L1 and immune/inflammation gene signatures at baseline (Fig. 2).