Current biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma：Surveillance, diagnosis and prediction of prognosis

Biomarkers for surveillance, diagnosis and predictionof prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma（HCC） are currently not ready for introduction intoclinical practice because of limited sensitivity andspecificity. Especially for the early detection of smallHCC novel biomarkers are needed to improve thecurrent effectiveness of screening performed byultrasound. The use of high-throughput technologiesin hepatocellular research allows to identify moleculesinvolved in the complex pathways in hepatocarcinogenesis.Several invasive and non-invasive biomarkershave been identified already and have been evaluatedin different clinical settings. Gene signatures withprognostic potential have been identified by geneexpression profiling from tumor tissue. However, asingle ＂all-in-one＂ biomarker that fits all-surveillance,diagnosis, prediction of prognosis-has not been foundso far. The future of biomarkers most probably lies in acombination of non-invasive biomarkers, imaging andclinical parameters in a surveillance setting. Molecularprofiling of tumorous and non-tumorous liver tissuemay allow a prediction of prognosis for the individualpatient and hopefully clear the way for individualtreatment approaches. This article gives an overviewon current developments in biomarker research inHCC with a focus on currently available and novelbiomarkers, in particular on microRNA.