Validation of a Novel Multitarget Blood Test Shows High Sensitivity to Detect Early Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background & Aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Although biannual ultrasound surveillance with or without α-fetoprotein (AFP) testing is recommended for at-risk patients, sensitivity for early stage HCC, for which potentially curative treatments exist, is suboptimal. We conducted studies to establish the multitarget HCC blood test (mt-HBT) algorithm and cut-off values and to validate test performance in patients with chronic liver disease.