2011Pediatric Blood & CancerRequires access

DLK1, a serum marker for hepatoblastoma in young infants

Farah A. Falix, Daniël C. Aronson, Wouter H. Lamers, Johan K. Hiralall, Jurgen Seppen

Open publisher page 18 citations

Abstract

Hepatoblastoma is a malignant pediatric liver tumor. The currently used diagnostic serum marker for hepatoblastoma, α-fetoprotein (AFP), is not always reliable in infants with hepatoblastoma, due to the physiologically elevated levels of AFP in this age group. In this report, we show that Delta-like 1 homolog (DLK1), a protein highly expressed during fetal development, but almost completely absent after birth, and an established liver-stem cell marker, is a new candidate serum marker of hepatoblastoma, especially in young infants.

About this research paper

What this paper is about

Hepatoblastoma is a malignant pediatric liver tumor. The currently used diagnostic serum marker for hepatoblastoma, α-fetoprotein (AFP), is not always reliable in infants with hepatoblastoma, due to the physiologically elevated levels of AFP in this age group. In this report, we show that Delta-like 1 homolog (DLK1), a protein highly expressed during fetal development, but almost completely absent after birth, and an established liver-stem cell marker, is a new candidate serum marker of hepatoblastoma, especially in young infants.

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OpenAlex reports 18 citations for this work. Citation counts describe recorded attention and do not establish research quality.

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Available abstract

Hepatoblastoma is a malignant pediatric liver tumor. The currently used diagnostic serum marker for hepatoblastoma, α-fetoprotein (AFP), is not always reliable in infants with hepatoblastoma, due to the physiologically elevated levels of AFP in this age group. In this report, we show that Delta-like 1 homolog (DLK1), a protein highly expressed during fetal development, but almost completely absent after birth, and an established liver-stem cell marker, is a new candidate serum marker of hepatoblastoma, especially in young infants.

Key concepts: Hepatoblastoma, Medicine, Tumor marker, Liver cancer, Fetus, Liver tumor, Internal medicine, Oncology

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