Cytokine biomarkers for independent prediction of hepatocellular carcinoma prognosis.

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Although various therapeutic modalities have been established for HCC, the overall outcomes of patients after treatment remain unsatisfactory, highlighting the need for valuable independent prognostic biomarkers. Cytokines are a large group of multifunctional secretory proteins and play critical roles in regulating development and progression of many cancer types, including HCC. Moreover, the expression levels of many cytokines in tumor/peritumor tissues and serum/plasma samples have been validated as important biomarkers for independently predicting the prognosis of HCC patients. This review provides a comprehensive summary of literature evidence for the independent prognostic significance of cytokine biomarkers in HCC patients receiving different therapies.