Circulating Methylated for Detection of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Cirrhosis

Does circulating methylated septin 9 () improve detection of hepatocellular carcinoma when combined with α-fetoprotein in patients with cirrhosis undergoing surveillance?In this diagnostic study including 574 patients with cirrhosis, the combination of at least single-positive methylated or α-fetoprotein greater than 20 ng/mL achieved 87.8% sensitivity compared with 44.3% for α-fetoprotein alone, a significant difference, and recovered 78% of cancers missed by α-fetoprotein, with an improvement in early-stage sensitivity.Findings from this study indicate that a blood-based combination of epigenomic and protein biomarkers may substantially improve hepatocellular carcinoma detection during surveillance, particularly for early-stage disease amenable to curative treatment.

Corresponding Author: Abderrahim Oussalah, MD, PhD, Department of Genomic Medicine, Division of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Nutrition, University Hospital of Nancy, Rue du Morvan, 54511 Vandoeuvre-Lès-Nancy, France (abderrahim.oussalah@univ-lorraine.fr).

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