AFP and hepatocellular carcinoma: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common malignancy and the third most leading cause of cancer-associated death worldwide.1 The prognosis of HCC depends on several clinicopathological parameters such as high level of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), tumor burden, degree of differentiation, presence of vascular invasion, and liver function.2,3 Vascular invasion is defined as the intrahepatic spread of the tumor which starts the metastatic process by tumor cells invading into the vascular endothelium.