In phase 2 and 3 studies of cirrhotic patients, DCP exhibited lower sensitivity for HCC detection compared to both AFP and AFP-L3 (DCP sensitivity: from 17.6% to 36.2; AFP and AFP-L3 sensitivities: from the 30.4–50%) (Beudeker et al. 2023; El-Serag et al. 2025; Singal et al. 2022b; Tayob et al. 2023) (Table 1). The gene discussed is AFP; the disease is hepatocellular carcinoma.