International Hepatology

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) imposes a significant health and economic burden on patients. Screening, recognized as an effective strategy to improve early diagnosis rates in high-risk populations, has garnered broad acknowledgment in the field. Current HCC screening techniques primarily rely on abdominal ultrasound (US) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) testing. However, these methods have limitations: the accuracy of ultrasound can be affected by subcutaneous fat thickness, and AFP has a relatively low detection rate for early-stage HCC.