Serum microparticles (MPs) as a novel tool to predict hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and tumor size

Background and aims: We recently showed that subpopulations of serum/plasma microparticles (MPs) serve as novel diagnostic tools to stage and grade chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) (Kornek M et al., Hepatology 2011; Gastroenterology 2012). Here, we studied if circulating MPs may help to identify patients with HCC or who are at risk of developing HCC. We therefore performed a pilot study to test if and how far HCC-associated MPs permit to predict the presence and size of HCCs in a cohort of patients with CHC with or without HCC in a blinded approach. Methods: MPs were isolated fro…