Fig. 4

Survival plots for HCC patients grouped according to the amount of cfDNA at the different time points. Patients’ total population was grouped according to the corresponding cfDNA concentration with respect to the median value found at each time point. Higher cfDNA concentration at later time points (T3 and T4) was showing a trend with a shorter OS (p = 0.057 and p = 0.095) while no association (p > 0.1) was found and earlier time points (T1 and T2). High and low cfDNA levels were defined as being above or below the median values at the different time points. OS was analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method and survival estimates in the different groups were compared using the log-rank test