Detection of circulating tumor cells in hepatocellular carcinoma: applications in diagnosis, prognosis prediction and personalized treatment

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide and is associated with poor clinical prognosis, which is mainly caused by tumor recurrence and metastasis. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are tumor cells shed into the bloodstream and regarded as the “seeds” of tumor recurrent or metastatic lesions. Over the past decade, the clinical value of CTC analysis has been extensively explored. CTC analysis is a representative form of liquid biopsy, offering a novel solution that can bypass the problems of invasive biopsy procedures, enabling comprehensive, non-invasive, and real-time disease monitoring. In HCC, CTC analysis has facilitated early detection and prognosis prediction, as well as treatment monitoring and therapeutic intervention guiding. In this review, we summarize available literature and provide an overview of CTC biology, detection technologies, and clinical applications in the diagnosis, prognosis prediction, and personalized treatment of HCC