Molecular profiling to predict hepatocellular carcinoma outcome

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of major health problems being the third leading cause of cancer death in the world [1]. Besides the high prevalence in developing countries, the incidence has continued to increase in developed countries mainly due to chronic infection with hepatitis C virus [2]. Early stage tumor can be treated with surgical resection, transplantation, or local ablation. However, tumor recurrence is common after local treatments, and there is still no curative therapy once the tumor gets into advanced stage. A recent clinical trial has shown that molecular targeted approach is a promising strategy to improve prognosis of HCC patients [3]. To increase the chance to apply currently existing or experimental medical interventions for potential cure, identification of patients at risk of recurrence is critically important. To this end, precise understanding of its molecular mechanism is the key. This editorial briefly discusses the pattern of tumor recurrence specific to HCC, and the strategy to predict the risk of recurrence by means of gene-expression profiling.