Genetic screening of liver cancer: State of the art

Table 2 Genetic and other screening technologies for hepatocellular carcinoma

	Advantages	Disadvantages
AFP testing	Widely used; relatively cost-effective	Limited sensitivity, especially in early-stage HCC; prone to false positives/negatives
Genomic profiling (next-Generation sequencing, whole-genome sequencing)	High sensitivity for detecting genetic alterations; provides comprehensive genomic information	Costly; complex data analysis; may identify variants of uncertain significance
Liquid biopsy (circulating tumor DNA)	Non-invasive; potential for early detection; provides real-time monitoring	Limited sensitivity in early stages; technical challenges; standardization concerns
Imaging techniques (MRI, CT, ultrasound)	Commonly used; assesses tumor characteristics and location	Limited sensitivity for small lesions; exposure to radiation (CT); may not detect molecular changes
Molecular biomarkers (miRNA, methylation patterns)	High specificity; potential for early detection	Variable sensitivity; limited standardization; assay complexity
Circulating tumor cells analysis	May reflect metastatic potential; potential for real-time monitoring	Rare in early stages; technical challenges; standardization issues

CT: Computed tomography; MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; AFP: Alpha fetoprotein.