Molecular Markers and Predictive Models Revolutionize Precision Surgery for Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of primary liver cancer, continues to exact a devastating toll worldwide, claiming over 800,000 lives annually and ranking as the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Despite strides in surgical techniques that have enhanced operative safety, the specter of postoperative recurrence looms large, with hyper-progression recurrence (HPR) emerging as a particularly ruthless variant. Characterised by the explosive emergence of multiple intrahepatic tumour nodules – often exceeding five in number – within the first two years after hepatectomy, HPR overwhelms the liver’s regenerative capacity and consigns patients to palliative care with median survival times plummeting to mere months. Traditional staging frameworks, such as the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer system, falter in pinpointing this high-velocity threat, underscoring an urgent need for sophisticated predictive instruments and molecular diagnostics to inform bespoke therapeutic pathways. In a landmark…
