Hepatocellular recurrence after orthotopic liver transplantation: Is combination of α-fetoprotein and glypican-3 a reliable marker?

Wang et al. have provided new and novel evidence about the importance of using α-fetoprotein (ALP) and glypican-3 (GPC-3) mRNA detection in peripheral blood of the patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence after ortothopic liver transplantation (OLT) (1). HCC keeps on as major universal health apprehension ensuing in more than 1 million caner associated deaths annually (2, 3). These results are frankly attributable to a commonly pitiable prognosis for patients with HCC, with few attaining 5-year survival (3). Although the incidence of HCC in North America has been comparatively low, a stable augmentation has taken place since the 1980s, while the prevalence of most other cancers has turned down (4). Because of the comparative resistance of HCC to systemic chemotherapy, pioneering treatments such as transarterial chemoembolization and yttrium 90– labeled radiotherapy has been extended to improve disease manage.