Precision Medicine: Update on Diagnosis and Therapeutic Strategies of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Recent advances in multiple omics technologies and the advent of massively parallel sequencing provide technical supports for the implementation of precision medicine. The precision medicine emphasizes that heterogeneous diseases can be well classified into more precise subtypes by the powerful detection methods and integration of clinical features, so that the clinicians should develop more accurate diagnosis and therapeutic strategies for the disease subtype population in an effort to maximize the efficacy and minimize the unnecessary side effects. Oncology is at the forefront of precision medicine, as malignant tumors have significant heterogeneity and are among the leading causes of death nationally and worldwide. The incidence and mortality of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC), a kind of extraordinarily heterogeneous malignancy, have been increasing worldwide, making it a major public health concern. Such heterogeneity affects key signaling pathways, driving phenotypic variation, influences tumor evolution, and poses severe challenges to HCC treatment. The application of precision medicine will have certain impact on HCC diagnosis and treatment strategies. Herein, we summarize the updates and challenges in high-risk population screening, prevention, diagnosis, staging and therapy of HCC under the concept of precision medicine.