AFP and neoplasm: Previous research reports suggested multiple factors exerting adverse effects on the prognosis of patients with liver cancer, including morphological (i.e., maximum tumor size and number, collectively referred to as “tumor burden”) and pathological (such as microvascular infiltration, liver margin status, and liver capsule infiltration) features, and serum biomarkers (such as bilirubin, albumin, and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)) (11, 12).