Serum metabolites may be useful markers to assess vascular invasion and identify normal alpha-fetoprotein in hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing liver resection: a pilot study.

A comprehensive metabolomic profiling of HCC demonstrated that serum metabolites may be utilized to assist the early diagnosis of AFP-negative HCC patients and recognition of microvascular invasion in order to facilitate preoperative surgical planning and postoperative follow-up. Further, larger scale prospective studies are warranted to consolidate our findings.