AFP and hepatocellular carcinoma: To determine the value of AFP and EV-DLEU2 in the diagnosis of early HCC, AFP, and EV-DLEU2 were tested at all stages of mUICC, with a positivity rate of up to 96% at mUICC stage I. The EV-DLEU2 group also showed a high positive rate (96%) in HCC with very early low AFP levels (≤ 20 ng·mL− 1) [39].