AFP and hepatocellular carcinoma: The integrated model possessed the clinical value of predicting early postoperative recurrence in patients with AFP-negative HCC according to decision curve analysis, which allowed the classification of patients into subgroups of high-risk and low-risk for early recurrence.<h4>Conclusion</h4>The nomogram constructed by combining clinical and imaging features has favorable performance in predicting the probability of early postoperative recurrence in AFP-negative HCC patients, which can help optimize the therapeutic decision-making and prognostic assessment of AFP-negative HCC patients.