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Differential lectin reactivities of α‐fetoprotein in hepatocellular carcinoma: Diagnostic value when serum α‐fetoprotein levels are slightly raised
Author(s) -
STADEN LOUISE VAN,
BUKOFZER STANLEY,
KEW MICHAEL C.,
SAVAGE NERINA
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of gastroenterology and hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.214
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1440-1746
pISSN - 0815-9319
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1746.1992.tb00976.x
Subject(s) - medicine , hepatocellular carcinoma , gastroenterology , concanavalin a , lectin , alpha fetoprotein , fucosylation , wheat germ agglutinin , liver disease , carcinoma , differential diagnosis , pathology , glycoprotein , immunology , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , biochemistry , in vitro , glycan
The specificity and sensitivity of α‐fetoprotein (AFP) binding to Concanavalin‐A (Con‐A) and Lens culinaris agglutinin (LCA) in 26 South African blacks with advanced symptomatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) but only slightly raised serum AFP concentrations (20–500 ng/mL) was compared with that in patients with similar serum AFP levels from diseases that might be mistaken clinically for HCC (seven ‘benign’ liver disease [BLD] patients and six with metastatic liver disease [MLD] from gastrointestinal tumours). Con‐A–Sepharose‐4B affinity chromatography did not differentiate between the different groups: fucosylation rations for the HCC patients were 0.81 ± 0.60, compared with 0.63 ± 0.27 and 0.54 ± 0.32 in patients with BLD and MLD, respectively. Electrophoresis of AFP serum and fractions in the presence or absence of Con‐A and LCA showed an increase in the AFP C2 band. Rank correlation analysis of the AFP L2 and L3 bands combined could distinguish between patients with HCC and other hepatic diseases ( P < 0.05).