Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://doi.org/10.25358/openscience-7673
Authors: Ridder, Dirk Andreas
Weinmann, Arndt
Schindeldecker, Mario
Urbansky, Lana Louisa
Berndt, Kristina
Gerber, Tiemo Sven
Lang, Hauke
Lotz, Johannes
Lackner, Karl J.
Roth, Wilfried
Straub, Beate Katharina
Title: Comprehensive clinicopathologic study of alpha fetoprotein-expression in a large cohort of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma
Online publication date: 5-Sep-2022
Year of first publication: 2022
Language: english
Abstract: Alpha fetoprotein (AFP) is the most widely used diagnostic and prognostic serum biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Despite its wide clinical use, a systematic clinicopathologic study comparing AFP expression in HCC in situ with serum AFP concentrations has not yet been conducted. To analyze AFP expression in a large cohort of patients by immunohistochemistry, we employed a comprehensive tissue microarray with 871 different HCCs of overall 561 patients. AFP immunoreactivity was detected in only about 20% of HCC core biopsies, whereas 48.9% of the patients displayed increased serum values (>12 ng/mL). Immunostaining of whole tumor slides revealed that lack of detectable immunoreactivity in core biopsies in a subgroup of patients with elevated AFP serum concentrations is due to heterogeneous intratumoral AFP expression. Serum AFP concentrations and AFP expression in situ were moderately correlated (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient .53, P = 1.2e − 13). High AFP expression detected in serum (>227.3 ng/mL) or in situ predicted unfavorable prognosis and was associated with vascular invasion, higher tumor grade and macrotrabecular-massive tumor subtype. Multivariate and ROC curve analysis demonstrated that high AFP concentrations in serum is an independent prognostic parameter and represents the more robust prognostic predictor in comparison to AFP immunostaining of core biopsies. The previously published vessels encapsulating tumor clusters (VETC) pattern turned out as an additional, statistically independent prognostic parameter. AFP-positivity was associated with increased tumor cell apoptosis, but not with increased vascular densities. Additionally, AFP-positive tumors displayed increased proliferation rates, urea cycle dysregulation and signs of genomic instability, which may constitute the basis for their increased aggressiveness.
DDC: 610 Medizin
610 Medical sciences
Institution: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Department: FB 04 Medizin
Place: Mainz
ROR: https://ror.org/023b0x485
DOI: http://doi.org/10.25358/openscience-7673
Version: Published version
Publication type: Zeitschriftenaufsatz
License: CC BY-NC-ND
Information on rights of use: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Journal: International journal of cancer
150
6
Pages or article number: 1053
1066
Publisher: Wiley-Liss
Publisher place: Bognor Regis
Issue date: 2022
ISSN: 1097-0215
Publisher DOI: 10.1002/ijc.33898
Appears in collections:JGU-Publikationen

Files in This Item:
  File Description SizeFormat
Thumbnail
comprehensive_clinicopatholog-20220902141107519.pdf40.45 MBAdobe PDFView/Open