Biomarkers in Diagnosis and Management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Dear Colleagues,

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the world’s second leading cause of cancer-related deaths, with more than 50% of patients dying within five years of diagnosis. A lack of effective early detection tools, the limited treatment options for advanced stages, and the high frequency of HCC recurrence contribute to this poor prognosis. Despite the implementation of HCC screening programs for well-known at-risk populations, the majority of HCCs are diagnosed at late stages, indicating the need for more sensitive early biomarkers and patient-friendly (patient-accessible?) diagnostic tests for HCC screening. Like other cancers, HCC is a disease of the genome. The identification of the genomic alterations that drive hepato-carcinogenesis should reveal the most effective biomarkers for HCC screening, diagnosis, and disease management. HCC is also a multifactorial disease. Technological advances have enhanced our understanding of HCC carcinogenesis, from a histopathological definition to molecular characterization of the genome and epigenome. Identifying the genomic alterations that drive hepato-carcinogenesis should reveal the most effective biomarkers for HCC screening, diagnosis, and disease management. This fundamental genetic understanding of HCC reveals its high heterogeneity and evolutionary dynamics (tumor evolution) as a function of time, particularly in response to treatment. This highlights the importance of tumor genetic analysis for the precise diagnosis of cancer, as well as the potential of patient selection in targeted drug development. Due to its high heterogeneity, a combination of biomarkers in different categories such as protein and nucleic acids may be needed to increase performance.

This Special Issue will cover recent advances in biomarkers discovery and development for HCC screening, diagnosis, stratification, management, and drug development. The scope of the issue includes both technology and biomarkers.

Prof. Ying-Hsiu Su
Dr. Amy K. Kim
Guest Editors

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