Deciphering Platelet Kinetics in Diagnostic and Prognostic Evaluation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Figure 1

Schematic representation of platelet-based diagnostic and prognostic model in HCC. Platelet may serve as a liquid biopsy in patients with underlying liver disease to detect or predict HCC occurrence. Posttreatment platelets, after locoregional therapy, resection, transplant, or systemic therapy, may also enable monitoring the prognosis including DFS, OS, and TR. The morphological abnormalities of platelets including thrombocytosis, thrombocytopenia, or platelet ratio with lymphocyte/neutrophil have been used to evaluate the diagnosis or prognosis of HCC. Platelet-derived growth factors (VEGF, EGF, PDGF, FGF, and serotonin) are differentially expressed and correlated with diagnosis or prognosis of HCC. Other emerging platelet-based tools like RNA signatures are yet to be tested in patients with HCC. (HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCV, hepatitis C virus; NASH, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; DFS, disease-free survival; TACE, transarterial chemoembolization; RFA, radiofrequency ablation; OS, overall survival; TR, treatment response; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor; EGF, epidermal growth factor; PDGF, platelet-derived growth factor; FGF, fibroblast growth factor).