The accepted screening regimen including semiannual hepatic ultrasonography with or without serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) measurement, a widely recognized tumor marker, has set a precedent for the identification of HCC biomarkers in both imaging and laboratory data, despite a lack of consensus for the appropriateness of contemporaneous AFP measurement and the applicability of screening in patients without cirrhosis [6,7]. Here, AFP is linked to neoplasm.