Proteomics—a new approach to identify targets and biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma?

Primary liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), remains a global medical burden. Incidence rates are still high due to high prevalence of chronic viral hepatitis and the increasing numbers of obese and diabetic patients that develop non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) which are nowadays considered major drivers for HCC development (1,2). Treatment options for advanced disease stages are still limited and overall prognosis of HCC remains dismal, although immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to hold some promise over the previously established tyrosine kinase inhibitors (3).