ArticleJournal of circulating biomarkers
Relevance of existing blood-based biomarkers for detection of hepatocellular carcinoma: a prospective case-control study.
Article in Journal of circulating biomarkers. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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3 authors.
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Abstract
Introduction: This study evaluated the diagnostic performance of conventional blood-based biomarkers for detecting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). Methods: In this prospective case-control study, adults with CLD (with and without HCC) underwent blood sampling for alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP), and cell-free DNA (cfDNA). Diagnostic performance was assessed individually and in combination using regression analyses, with radiological imaging as the reference standard. Pre- and post-treatment biomarker levels were analyzed in a subset of HCC patients. Results: Among 453 analyzed participants (131 HCC, 322 non-HCC controls), AUROCs for AFP, DCP, and cfDNA were 0.84, 0.76, and 0.64, respectively. At Youden index-derived thresholds, sensitivities were 62% for AFP, 65% for DCP, and 59% for cfDNA, with corresponding specificities of 93%, 74%, and 64%. Combining biomarkers via regression models did not improve diagnostic performance. AFP demonstrated poor sensitivity (32%) for early-stage HCC detection, and performance varied by disease etiology. Among treatment response markers, DCP showed superior potential. Conclusion: In a real-world CLD cohort, conventional blood-based biomarkers demonstrate limited sensitivity for early-stage HCC detection. These findings highlight the need for molecular and genetic approaches to improve early HCC diagnosis.
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