However, in a 2012 Chinese study [91] enrolling 831 participants, DKK1 levels were significantly higher in HCC patients than controls, and similar findings were found for early-stage HCC (AUROC 86%, sensibility 70.9%, and specificity 90.5% in the test cohort; 90%, 73.8%, and 87.2% in the validation cohort). Here, DKK1 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.