Role of biomarkers in the diagnosis and management of HCC

Abstract

For many cancers, biomarkers have served as an important tool across the cancer care continuum from risk stratification and early detection to diagnosis and treatment. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) remains one of the few validated biomarkers for patients with HCC. Although AFP has shown potential for each of these steps, its performance, when used alone, has often been suboptimal. There continue to be discordant recommendations about AFP’s value when combined with ultrasound for surveillance, as well as its role in diagnostic algorithms. Conversely, high AFP levels are associated with aggressive tumor biology and survival, so it remains a key factor for the selection of candidates for liver transplant. There have been immense efforts to identify and validate additional biomarkers for each of these steps in the HCC care continuum. Indeed, biomarker panels have shown promising data for HCC risk stratification and surveillance among patients with cirrhosis, as well as prognostication and detection of minimal residual disease in patients undergoing HCC treatment. Several large prospective studies are currently ongoing to evaluate the role of these emerging biomarkers in clinical practice.