Blood gene signature for early hepatocellular carcinoma detection in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Purpose: Up to 25% of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients eventually develop hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a disease with poor prognosis unless detected early. This study identifies a blood-based RNA biomarker panel for early HCC detection in CHB.

Materials And Methods: A genome-wide RNA expression study was performed using RNA extracted from blood samples from Malaysian patients (matched HCC, CHB, controls).