Review of Glypican-3-Targeted Imaging Agents for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly prevalent malignant tumor globally, with low survival rates in advanced stages. Therefore, early diagnosis and precision therapy are pivotal to improving patient prognosis. Glypican-3 (GPC3) acts as a specific molecular target for HCC, which is highly expressed in 70%-85% of HCC tissues but undetectable in normal liver tissues, hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and other pathological conditions. This stringent expression regulation renders it an ideal tumor-specific target. MAIN CONTENT: Based on the biological properties of GPC3, various specific tumor imaging agents have been developed, covering multiple biomolecular types, including antibodies, peptides, and aptamers. This review systematically summarizes the research advances, application advantages, and existing challenges of three types of molecular imaging probes in the precise diagnosis and treatment of HCC. It focuses on the development strategies of these probes and evaluates their current limitations in light of key characterization parameters. CONCLUSION: This review aims to provide new research ideas for the precision diagnosis of HCC and promote the translation of clinical applications.