Notably, in AFP-negative HCC patients, DPEP1 maintains a diagnostic accuracy of 0.79 (95% CI: 0.71–0.88; sensitivity 73.68%, specificity 68.75%) and effectively discriminates small HCC lesions (<3 cm in diameter) with an accuracy of 0.76 (95% CI: 0.64–0.88).[26] Beyond oncology, DPEP1 functions as the primary adhesion receptor for neutrophils, orchestrating leukocyte recruitment during pulmonary inflammation and thereby exacerbating tissue damage in endotoxemia.[27]. Here, DPEP1 is linked to serum lipopolysaccharide activity.