Besides, partly different from the previous study of patients with HCV-related HCC, i.e., that gender, race, and serum ALT were independently associated with AFP ≥ 20 ng/mL [19], we found that antiviral therapy, HBeAg, AST > 1× ULN, and gender were independent factors associated with abnormally elevated AFP in HBV-related early-stage HCC patients. Here, AFP is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.