A Combination of Blood Lymphocytes and AST Levels Distinguishes Patients with Small Hepatocellular Carcinomas from Non-cancer Patients

HCC patients typically present at an advanced tumor stage, in which surgical therapies cannot be used. Screening ultrasound exams can increase the numbers of patients diagnosed with small tumors, but are often not used in patients at risk for HCC. We evaluated clinically available and cheap potential blood tests as biomarkers for screening patients at risk for HCC.A comparison was made of commonly used blood count and liver function parameters...