Circulating Tumor DNA Clinical Applications in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Current Trends and Future Perspectives.

Detection of ctDNA in both asymptomatic individuals and high-risk patients (with chronic liver disease or cirrhosis) contributes to the early diagnosis of HCC. ctDNA analysis also offer tremendous information on the tumor burden and on the risk of early recurrence. The implementation of ctDNA analysis, in association with classical tumor markers (e.g., alpha-fetoprotein), may improve (a) HCC screening in high-risk patients, (b) stratification of the recurrence risk after surgery, and (c) prognosis evaluation of patients with HCC.