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This study aimed to compare the performance of surveillance imaging with or without alpha fetoprotein (AFP) for early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with cirrhosis. The researchers searched MEDLINE and SCOPUS and found that ultrasound alone had low sensitivity for detecting early-stage HCC, but the addition of AFP significantly increased sensitivity. The study concluded that ultrasound plus AFP measurement is a more effective surveillance strategy for detecting HCC in clinical practice. However, only a few studies evaluated computed tomography or magnetic resonance image-based surveillance, which detected HCC with high sensitivity.

Authors: Kristina Tzartzeva, Joseph Obi, Nicole E. Rich, Neehar D. Parikh, Jorge A. Marrero, Adam Yopp, Akbar Waljee, Amit G. Singal