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Bose et al. Hepatoma Res 2019;5:24 Hepatoma Research
DOI: 10.20517/2394-5079.2019.10

Review Open Access

Advances in early diagnosis of hepatocellular
carcinoma

Partha Pratim Bose , Urmimala Chatterjee 2
1
1 Amity Institute of Applied Science, Amity University, Noida 201313, UP, India.
2 Delhi Public School, Howrah 711405, India.
Correspondence to: Dr. Partha Pratim Bose, Amity Institute of Applied Science, Amity University, Noida 201313, UP, India.
E-mail: ppbose@amity.edu

How to cite this article: Bose PP, Chatterjee U. Advances in early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatoma Res 2019;5:24.
http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-5079.2019.10

Received: 9 Feb 2019 First Decision: 2 Apr 2019 Revised: 12 Apr 2019 Accepted: 18 Apr 2019 Published: 11 Jul 2019

Science Editor: Jin-Lin Hou Copy Editor: Cai-Hong Wang Production Editor: Jing Yu

Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most recurrent hepatic malignancy and the third in the cancer-related
casualties in the west. The frequently-documented causes of HCC are chronic liver infections by hepatitis B virus
or hepatitis C virus, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, cirrhosis, exposure to aflatoxins and tobacco smocking, etc.
Clinical presentation of this fatal disease ranges from asymptomatic to upper abdominal pain or common health
conditions like weight loss or lethargy. Among current surveillance strategy for suspected patients, liver imaging
and serum alpha fetoprotein estimation has been regularly recommended. However, sensitivity of this diagnostic
methodology especially in early detections, often suffers from compromised sensitivity and selectivity. Various
image based and serological biomarkers for HCC has been introduced in recent decades with varied sensitivity
as stand-alone or combined diagnostic protocol. The current article will review the status of HCC diagnosis with
respect to common diagnostic protocol, and upcoming novel biomarkers.

Keywords: Alpha fetoprotein, extracellular vehicles, hepatocellular carcinoma, indocyanine green, magnetic
resonance imaging, non-coding RNA

INTRODUCTION
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent primary liver malignancy and the third cause of cancer-
related death in the western countries that trended the highest increase in occurrence throughout the last
decade . Patients with chronic HCV, hepatitis B (HBV), alcoholic liver disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver
[1]

© The Author(s) 2019. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
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