Evidence Rising, Integration Lagging: The Bottleneck of Circulating Free and Tumor DNA Application in Liver Transplantation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Blood-based cancer markers show promise for predicting liver transplant outcomes, but standardizing tests and speeding results could unlock their clinical potential.
This targeted literature review from Cleveland Clinic synthesizes evidence on cfDNA and ctDNA liquid biopsy applications in HCC liver transplantation, showing superior prognostic discrimination and early recurrence detection. Widespread clinical adoption is hampered by heterogeneous assay platforms, 7-14 day turnaround times, limited reimbursement, and poor EHR integration.
What the study was
- Study design
- Targeted literature review
- Population
- Hepatocellular carcinoma patients undergoing liver transplantation or hepatectomy
- Category
- Early Detection
- Maturity
- Validated
- Journal
- Journal of gastrointestinal surgery
Why it surfaced
Synthesizes actionable ctDNA evidence for MRD-guided surveillance in HCC; clinical integration roadmap; EARLY_CANCER_DETECTION flag applied.
A plain-language summary of published research — not medical advice. Talk to a clinician about your own care.