Circulating cell-free DNA in clinical management of hepatocellular carcinoma: Updates on detection, diagnosis, treatment, and recurrence

Abstract

The evident concordance between tissue and liquid biopsies in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a prevalent and lethal cancer worldwide, has positioned liquid biopsy as a valuable non-invasive tool for the clinical management of HCC. Among its analytes, circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) has recently gained significant attention as a key biomarker for HCC. This review provides an overview of recent advancements in the use of cfDNA for the detection and diagnosis, treatment decision-making, and recurrence surveillance of HCC. The various merits of cfDNA underscore its strong potential for clinical integration in HCC. However, there is also an emerging imperative that arises from the varying cfDNA-related methodologies, which demonstrate disparate outcomes across studies, emphasizing the importance of systematic evaluation and standardization to ensure consistent and equitable patient care.

Keywords

Hepatocellular carcinoma / Circulating cell-free DNA / Machine learning / Tumor burden

Funding

This work was supported by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council Theme-based Research Scheme (T12-716/22-R), Innovation and Technology Commission grant to State Key Laboratory of Liver Research (ITC PD/17-9), Health and Medical Research Fund (10212956 & 07182546), and RGC General Research Fund (17100021 & 17117019).

Conflict of interest

Daniel Wai-Hung Ho is an Editorial Board Member of this journal and serves as the Guest Editor of this special issue, but was not in any way involved in the editorial and peer-review process conducted for this paper, directly or indirectly. Separately, other authors declared that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.

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