The model, which included four items—sex, age at the time of examination, alpha-fetoprotein level (log10AFP) and presence or absence of HLA-A*33:03—revealed an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.862 for HCC prediction within 1 year and an AUROC of 0.863 within 3 years. Here, AFP is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.