Strategies for discovering novel hepatocellular carcinoma biomarkers

Table 1 Summary of emerging biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma

Marker	Assay used	Sensitivity (%)	Specificity (%)	Sample (number)	Ref.
GPC3	Immunohistochemistry	72	85	120 HCC, 90 cirrhosis	Hsu et al[32]
GP73	ELISA	69	75	150 HCC, 100 cirrhosis	Marrero et al[40]
OPN	ELISA	46	80	208 HCC, 193 chronic hepatitis	Jang et al[82]
DCP	ECLIA	77	88	180 HCC, 140 cirrhosis	Nakamura et al[22]
MiR-122	Quantitative RT-PCR	85	80	210 HCC, 160 healthy controls	El-Abd et al[54]
AFP-L3	Immunoassay	42	97	419 HCC, 417 cirrhosis	Marrero et al[83]

This table provides a comprehensive overview of several emerging biomarkers that have been identified for the diagnosis and monitoring of hepatocellular carcinoma. The biomarkers are listed alongside the assays used for their detection, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, immunohistochemistry, and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, among others. The sensitivity and specificity of each biomarker, representing its diagnostic performance, are provided along with the sample sizes used in the studies. These biomarkers, such as glypican-3, Golgi protein 73, and microRNA-122, offer potential for improving the early detection and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. ELISA: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; RT-PCR: Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction; GPC3: Glypican-3; GP73: Golgi protein 73; OPN: Osteopontin; DCP: Des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin; miR-122: MicroRNA-122; AFP-L3: Alpha-fetoprotein-L3; ECLIA: Electrochemiluminescence immunoassay.