Yamashita et al. [41] studied HCC tissues and cell lines and reported that EpCAM+ cells had poor morphology and elevated serum alpha fetoprotein (AFP), whereas CD90+ cells had a high metastatic rate, suggesting two distinct hepatic CSCs, in which EpCAM+ cells exhibit epithelial characteristics, whereas CD90+ cells exhibit mesenchymal characteristics. Here, AFP is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.