Table 1.

Efficacy of markers that can be used in the early diagnosis of hepatocellular cancer.

Marker	Method	Sensitivity	Specificity	Comment	Reference
AFP-L3	ELISA	36–96%	89–94%	AFP-L3 seems to be more reliable and have better prognostic value than total AFP in patients with HCC.	[53,54]
DCP	ELISAor İHC on tissue	28–89%	87–96%	DCP more specific for HCC, unaffected by other liver diseases (e.g., chronic hepatitis C), and is correlated with the HCC stage and survival.	[27,28]
GP73	Serumimmunoblot and densitometric analysis	69%	75%	Serum levels of GP73 are higher in patients with HCC than in those without the disease. GP73 was superior to AFP for the detection of early HCC.	[29]
GPC3	Western blotting and ELISA	50–72%	40–53%	Patients with HCC have substantially elevated serum GPC3 levels compared to healthy volunteers and patients with noncancerous liver diseases.	[55]
CTDNA	NGS	100%, 85%	94%, 93%	Combining the detection of cfDNA alterations and protein markers is a viable method for identifying HCC at an early stage.	[42,43]
Methylation markers	NGS	95%, 84%	92%, 96%	Plasma testing has been shown to accurately detect HCC.	[40,41]
miRNA	NGS	85–90%	87%, 80%	A combination of conventional molecular targeting agents and miRNA-based interventions for HCC could enhance transgene expression and gene transfer in primary and metastatic HCC.	[46,48]
lncRNA	NGS	87%	82%	lncRNAs are promising markers for diagnosis and prognosis, and may predict response to radiotherapy and systemic treatment.	[49]