Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignant tumor with high mortality and poor prognosis in the world. The low rate of early diagnosis, as well as the high risk of postoperative metastasis and recurrence, led to the poor clinical prognosis of HCC patients. Currently, it mainly depends on serum markers, imaging examination, and tissue biopsy to diagnose and determine the recurrence and metastasis of HCC after treatments. Nevertheless, the accuracy and sensitivity of serum markers and imaging for early HCC diagnosis are suboptimal. Tissue biopsy, containing limited tissue samples, is insufficient to reveal comprehensive tumor biology information and is inappropriate to monitor dynamic tumor progression due to its invasiveness. Thus, low invasive diagnostic methods and novel biomarkers with high sensitivity and reliability must be found to improve HCC detection and prediction. As a non-invasive, dynamic, and repeatable detection method, “liquid biopsy”, has attracted much attention to early diagnosis and monitoring of treatment response, which promotes the progress of precision medicine. This review summarizes the clinical applications of liquid biopsy in HCC, including circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), and exosome in early diagnosis, prognostic evaluation, disease monitoring, and guiding personalized treatment.
Highlights
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the main pathological type of primary malignant tumor of the liver, ranking as the sixth common cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the world [1]
This review summarizes the clinical applications of liquid biopsy in HCC, including circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), and exosomes in early diagnosis, prognostic evaluation, disease monitoring, and guiding personalized treatment
Additional similar studies proved that the expression of EpCAM+ CTCs in HCC patients showed a significant positive correlation to the serum AFP level [35], BCLC stage [38] and was associated with vascular invasion [40], disease progression [35], higher recurrence rate [33], and shorter disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) [31]
Summary
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the main pathological type of primary malignant tumor of the liver, ranking as the sixth common cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the world [1]. This review summarizes the clinical applications of liquid biopsy in HCC, including CTCs, ctDNA, and exosomes in early diagnosis, prognostic evaluation, disease monitoring, and guiding personalized treatment. Additional similar studies proved that the expression of EpCAM+ CTCs in HCC patients showed a significant positive correlation to the serum AFP level [35], BCLC stage [38] and was associated with vascular invasion [40], disease progression [35], higher recurrence rate [33], and shorter disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) [31]. Prospective research on 135 HCC patients demonstrated that surgical resection of tumors reduced the quantity of CTC They suggest that the postoperative CTC continued to be at a higher level (≥5), which has a better predictive validity for prognosis than AFP>400cmg/L and tumor diameter>5cm [43]. Sun et al [40]. examined CTCs at five important sites of blood vessels in HCC patients, and showed
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
