Topic: The Role of Liquid Biopsy in Precision Oncology: Advancements in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Monitoring and Early Detection

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a prevalent cancer and one of the leading causes of cancer death worldwide. It is often detected at advanced stages with poor prognosis, and only few effective treatment options are available. Liquid-biopsy usually refers to the study of analytes derived from peripheral blood, ranging from protein, nucleic acids and extracellular vesicles to tumor cells. In many clinical settings particularly for inoperable tumors, tumor biopsies cannot be obtained. Hence, the non-invasive nature of liquid-biopsies and its suitability for longitudinal sampling favor its use in oncology. Moreover, regarding solid tumors, there are variable levels of intratumoral heterogeneity (ITH). HCC is known to have a significant degree of ITH. The complexity of spatial genomic composition within individual tumor limits the effectiveness of single tumor-biopsy, which may further implicate liquid-biopsy as faithful representation of the disease. Major applications of liquid-biopsy in HCC include non-invasive cancer surveillance, early detection of minimal residual disease/relapse, monitoring of treatment response and clinical prognostication.

In this special issue, we would like to call for papers on different aspects of the basic, translational and clinical applications of liquid biopsy in early detection and clinical management of HCC.

Subtopics:

1. Biological basis of liquid biopsy, including circulating tumor cells (CTCs), cell-free DNA (cfDNA), extracellular vesicles (EVs), etc
2. Overview and significance of liquid biopsy in HCC management
3. Recent technological innovations and methodologies in liquid biopsy
4. The role of liquid biopsy in the early detection and diagnosis
5. Using liquid biopsy to monitor disease progression and treatment response in patients
6. Advantages and limitations of liquid biopsy compared to traditional tissue biopsy
7. Molecular biomarkers in liquid biopsy for HCC
8. Challenges and limitations of liquid biopsy
9. Case studies and trials of liquid biopsy
10. Emerging research trends, future directions, and potential breakthroughs in the field