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Embryonal serum α‐globulin in cancer patients: Diagnostic value
Author(s) -
Abelev G. I.,
Assecritova I. V.,
Kraevsky N. A.,
Perova S. D.,
Perevodchikova N. I.
Publication year - 1967
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/ijc.2910020517
Subject(s) - hepatocellular carcinoma , globulin , gamma globulin , medicine , carcinoma , cancer , differential diagnosis , pathology , metastatic carcinoma , liver cancer , gastroenterology , antibody , immunology
Sera of 308 patients, of whom 242 were suffering from various types of tumours and 66 from non‐cancerous diseases, were tested for the presence of αf‐globulin. The reaction was positive in 17 out of 28 patients with primary cancer of the liver. Among these there were 18 cases with tumours of the hepatocellular type, and 14 of these gave a positive αf‐globulin reaction. The test was negative in 67 patients with metastatic liver tumours. This confirms Tatarinov's (1964) findings indicating that αf‐globulin is detected in sera of patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma. In addition, αf‐globulin was found in some patients with mixed hepatocellular and cholangiocellular carcinoma. The fact that the αf‐globulin test is usually positive in hepatocellular and mixed liver carcinomas and negative in metastatic liver tumours makes it potentially useful for the differential diagnosis of liver tumours. αf‐globulin was found also in the blood of patients with testicular teratoblastoma, which exhibited some elements of embryonal carcinoma. This novel finding cannot be interpreted as yet. The test was negative in other types of testicular tumours.