Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide due to latent liver disease, late diagnosis, and nonresponse to systemic treatments. Till now, surgical and/or biopsy specimens are still generally used as a gold standard by the clinicians for clinical decision-making. However, apart from their invasive characteristics, tumor biopsy only mirrors a single spot of the tumor, failing to reflect current cancer dynamics and progression. Therefore, it is imperative to develop new diagnostic strategies with significant effectiveness and reliability to monitor high-risk populations and detect HCC at an early stage. In the past decade, the potent utilities of “liquid biopsy” have attracted intense concern and were developed to evaluate cancer progression in several clinical trials. “Liquid biopsies” represent a series of noninvasive tests that detect cancer byproducts easily accessible in peripheral blood, mainly including circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and cell-free nucleic acids (cfNAs) that are shed into the blood from the tumor sites. In this review, we focus on the recent developments in the field of “liquid biopsy” as well as the diagnostic and prognostic significance of CTCs and cfNAs in HCC patients.

Background: The liver-specific microRNA-122 (miR-122) has been demonstrated as a powerful and promising biomarker of hepatic diseases. However, the researches on the accuracy of miR122 detection in chronic viral hepatitis have been inconsistent, leading us to conduct this meta-analysis to systematically summarize the diagnostic value of circulating miR-122 in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and/or hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated chronic viral hepatitis. Methods: A comprehensive literature search (updated to January 30, 2019) in PubMed, Cochrane library, EMBASE, CNKI, Wanfang, and CQVIP databases was performed to identify eligible studies. The sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), positive and negative likelihood ratios (PLR and NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the curve (AUC) were pooled to explore the diagnostic performance of circulating miR-122. Subgroup and threshold effect analysis were further carried out to explore the heterogeneity. Results: Overall, 15 studies were finally included in this meta-analysis according to the exclusion and inclusion criteria. The pooled estimates indicated a moderately high diagnostic accuracy for circulating miR-122, with a sensitivity of 0.92 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.86–0.95], a specificity of 0.84 (95% CI, 0.78–0.89), a PLR of 5.7 (95% CI, 4.7–8.1), a NLR of 0.1 (95% CI, 0.06–0.18), a DOR of 57 (95% CI 25-129), and an AUC of 0.93 (95% CI, 0.91–0.95). The subgroup analysis demonstrated that diagnostic accuracy was better for HCV-associated chronic viral hepatitis patients and non-Chinese compared with other subgroups. In addition, we found that serum might be a more promising matrix for detecting the expression of miR-122 than plasma. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that circulating miR-122 have a relatively high diagnostic value for chronic viral hepatitis detection, especially in the patients with HCV-associated chronic viral hepatitis. However, further large cohort studies are still required to confirm our findings.

As part of “liquid biopsy,” lots of literature indicated the potential diagnostic value of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in the management of prostate cancer (PCa). However, the literature on the accuracy of cfDNA detection in PCa has been inconsistent. Hence, we performed this meta-analysis to assess the diagnostic value of cfDNA in PCa. A total of 19 articles were included in this analysis according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. We then investigated two main subgroups in this meta-analysis, including qualitative analysis of abnormal level of cfDNA and qualitative analysis of single-gene methylation alterations. Overall, the results of quantitative analysis showed sensitivity of 0.73 (95% CI, 0.62–0.82) and specificity of 0.80 (95% CI, 0.70–0.87), with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.83 (95% CI, 0.80–0.86). For qualitative assessment, the values were 0.34 (95% CI, 0.22–0.48), 0.99 (95% CI, 0.97–1.00), and 0.91 (95% CI, 0.88–0.93), respectively. Our results suggest the pooled specificity of each subgroup is much higher than the specificity of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). However, they are not recommended for PCa screening alone, because their sensitivities are not higher than the conventional serum biomarkers PSA. We conclude that analysis of cfDNA can be used as an adjuvant tool for PCa screening.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is clinically distinguished by its covert onset, rapid progression, high recurrence rate, and poor prognosis. Studies have revealed that SETDB1 (SET Domain Bifurcated 1) is a histone H3 methyltransferase located on chromosome 1 and plays a crucial role in carcinogenesis. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the clinical significance of SETDB1 expression in HCC. In patients with HCC, elevated levels of SETDB1 correlated with a poorer overall survival (OS) rate, marking it as an independent prognostic factor for HCC, as revealed by both univariate and multivariate Cox analyses. Furthermore, we utilized the SangerBox and TISIDB databases to profile the tumor immune microenvironment in HCC, including scoring the tumor microenvironment and assessing immune cell infiltration. The TIDE algorithm was employed to examine the association between SETDB1 expression and immune responses. Our findings indicated that SETDB1 expression negatively correlated with the majority of immune cells, a wide range of immune cell marker genes, and numerous immune pathways, thereby leading to the reduced effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Lastly, both in vivo and ex vivo experiments were conducted to substantiate the role of SETDB1 in HCC tumorigenesis. In conclusion, the upregulation of SETDB1 is associated with a poorer prognosis in HCC patients and inversely correlates with immune cell infiltration, potentially serving as a predictive marker for immunotherapy response.

Background/Objectives: Despite the transformative potential of gene editing technologies, a systematic mapping of their translational trajectory from bench to bedside remains scarce. This bibliometric analysis aims to chart the bench-to-bedside evolution, identify leading disease targets and therapeutic strategies, and uncover emerging clinical trends and challenges. Methods: We analyzed 1,571 peer-reviewed articles and reviews explicitly addressing gene editing therapies for human genetic diseases, published between 2005 and 2025 and retrieved from Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus. Science mapping was conducted using CiteSpace and VOSviewer to visualize collaboration networks, thematic clusters, and research fronts. Results: Publication output followed a three-phase exponential growth: engineered nucleases (2005–2012), CRISPR revolution (2013–2018), and precision translation (2019–2025). The United States and China dominated productivity; Harvard and the University of California were key institutional hubs. Hematologic disorders—particularly sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia—constituted the primary disease focus. Emerging frontiers include base and prime editing, epigenetic modulation, multiplex editing, and AI-assisted design. Collaboration networks remain predominantly national, with limited global integration. Conclusions: This study delineates the rapid evolution of gene editing therapies, highlighting robust clinical translation for hematological conditions while exposing critical gaps in non-hematopoietic tissues, delivery efficiency, long-term safety, and equitable access. These findings provide a strategic roadmap to broaden the therapeutic reach of gene editing across diverse disease domains.