Source: Division of General and Transplant Hepatology, Baylor Regional Transplant Institute, Baylor All Saints Medical Center at Fort Worth, Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, 1250 8th Avenue, Suite 515, Fort Worth, TX 76104, USA.

Abstract: Early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a significant impact on survival by implementation of effective treatment strategies, including hepatic resection, locoregional ablative therapy, and liver transplantation. The use of serum tumor markers and biopsy are particularly important for diagnosis of small hepatic lesions with atypical features on imaging studies. α-Fetoprotein remains the most frequently used tumor marker for the diagnosis of HCC. The development of novel serum biomarkers for HCC, identification of molecular markers for tissue immunohistochemistry, and emergence of new diagnostic techniques such as proteomic profiling may improve the early detection rate of HCC in the future.