Reliable biomarkers are important tools to monitor disease progression and efficacy of antiviral activity of standard of care as well as novel strategies. Using various mainly protein-based approaches we examine the applicability of existing and novel biomarkers to screen and diagnose hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) before a tumor is visible on imaging, allowing for early tumor detection in a cost effective manner that will lead to implementation of curative therapies. In addition, this project addresses modifiable risk factors for hepatobiliary tumors that could be targeted for prevention.
The study is part of the project funded by the EU Horizon2020 program, coordinated by the Erasmus MC“ESCALON”( European-Latin American network for the assessment of biomarkers to predict and diagnose hepatobiliary malignancies and characterization of risk factors for cancer development).
Coordinators: André Boonstra and José Debes
Beneficiaries from: 5 Latin American countries (Argentina, Brasil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador), 4 EU countries (Germany, UK, Spain, Netherlands) and Canada.
Recent publications
- Verschuren L, et al. Development of a novel non-invasive biomarker panel for hepatic fibrosis in MASLD. 2024. Nature Comm. May 29;15(1):4564.
- Fu S, et al. Hypermethylation of DNA methylation markers in non-cirrhotic hepatocellular carcinoma. 2023. Cancers. Sep 28;15(19):4784.
- Beudeker BJB, et al. Validation and optimization of AFP-based biomarker panels for early HCC detection in Latin America and Europe. 2023. Hepatol Comm. Sep 15;7(10):e0264.
- Ayoub A, et al. Assessment of STAT4 variant and risk of Hepatocellular carcinoma in Latin Americans and Europeans. 2023. Cancers. Sep 12;15(18):4530
- BeudekerBJB, et al. Circulating cytokines reflect the etiology-specific immune environment in cirrhosis and HCC. Cancers. 2022. 14(19): 4900.