Liquid Biopsy-based Monitoring System for Relapse of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Associated With Hepatitis B After Liver Transplantation: A Multi-center and Prospective Study

Relapse of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of death after liver transplantation (LT). Detection of cancer at an earlier stage of the disease can be critical to improve patient survival. Liquid biopsy is a revolutionary technique that is opening previously unexpected perspectives. It consists of circulating extracellular vesicles, nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) and circulating tumor cells. The detection and isolation of circulating tumor cells, circulating tumor DNA and exosomes, as a source of genomic and proteomic information in patients with cancer. Regarding these promising and potential transformative tools, as well as the issues still needed to be addressed for adopting various liquid biopsy approaches into clinical practice. This study aims to develop a novel, reliable, liquid biopsy-based biomarker system for relapse of HCC associated with hepatitis B after liver transplantation.