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Wang et al. Hepatoma Res 2020;6:61 Hepatoma Research
DOI: 10.20517/2394-5079.2020.55

Review Open Access

Detection of circulating tumor cells in
hepatocellular carcinoma: applications in

diagnosis, prognosis prediction and personalized
treatment

Peng-Xiang Wang, Jian-Wen Cheng, Xin-Rong Yang
Department of Liver Surgery and Transplantation, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University; Key Laboratory
of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion, Ministry of Education, Shanghai 200032, P. R. China.
Correspondence to: Dr. Xin-Rong Yang, Department of Liver Surgery and Transplantation, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan
Hospital, Fudan University; Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion, Ministry of Education, 180 Fenglin Road,
Shanghai 200032, P. R. China. E-mail: yang.xinrong@zs-hospital.sh.cn

How to cite this article: Wang PX, Cheng JW, Yang XR. Detection of circulating tumor cells in hepatocellular carcinoma:
applications in diagnosis, prognosis prediction and personalized treatment. Hepatoma Res 2020;6:61.
http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-5079.2020.55

Received: 30 May 2020 First Decision: 28 Jun 2020 Revised: 19 Jul 2020 Accepted: 29 Jul 2020 Published: 1 Sep 2020
Received: First Decision: Revised: Accepted: Published: Academic Editor: Shu-Kui Qin Copy Editor: Cai-Hong Wang Production Editor: Jing Yu

Science Editor: Copy Editor: Production Editor: Jing Yu
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide and is associated
with poor clinical prognosis, which is mainly caused by tumor recurrence and metastasis. Circulating tumor cells
(CTCs) are tumor cells shed into the bloodstream and regarded as the “seeds” of tumor recurrent or metastatic
lesions. Over the past decade, the clinical value of CTC analysis has been extensively explored. CTC analysis is
a representative form of liquid biopsy, offering a novel solution that can bypass the problems of invasive biopsy
procedures, enabling comprehensive, non-invasive, and real-time disease monitoring. In HCC, CTC analysis has
facilitated early detection and prognosis prediction, as well as treatment monitoring and therapeutic intervention
guiding. In this review, we summarize available literature and provide an overview of CTC biology, detection
technologies, and clinical applications in the diagnosis, prognosis prediction, and personalized treatment of HCC.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma, liquid biopsy, circulating tumor cells, biomarkers, personalized medicine

© The Author(s) 2020. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,
sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as long
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