Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ranks high among the most common and fatal
cancers in the world. HCC develops from chronic
liver diseases, especially from hepatitis C virus-related and hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related
liver diseases. In this sense, useful
biomarkers for HCC detection for the patients at risk of HCC are quite important. Recently, new
therapies for HCC have been developed, and the prognosis of the patients has improved. However, considering the recurrence rate of HCC
after treatment is very high,
biomarkers that detect recurrence at an early stage are also required. In addition, since new drugs such as multikinase inhibitors have been introduced to the clinical scene, surrogate
biomarkers to predict the effectiveness of treatment will be required in the near future. So far, many
biomarkers for HCC have been developed, and their clinical usefulness has been assessed. As a result, several
biomarkers for HCC are widely used. However, investigations to discover more useful
biomarkers that fit in clinical settings are under way. In this review article,
biomarkers for HCC are overviewed to examine their clinical usefulness.