Prognostic value of α-fetoprotein response in treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

Primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common malignant tumor of the liver. Accurate assessment of treatment outcome and prognosis in HCC patients is very important due to its high malignancy and poor prognosis. Currently, radiological imaging, though a standard method for prognostic evaluation of HCC, has a lot of limitations. As an important serological marker of HCC, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) has been widely used in the screening, diagnosis, and prognostic evaluation of HCC. The studies regarding the prognostic value of AFP response in HCC patients were summarized. Generally, AFP has good prognostic value in HCC patients treated with radiofrequency ablation, transarterial chemoembolization, yttrium-90 radioembolization, molecular targeted agents like sorafenib, systemic chemotherapy, hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy, or concurrent chemoradiotherapy.