Familial Wilms tumor is a rare entity that accounts for only 1-2% of all Wilms tumor cases, with an earlier age of onset and an increased frequency of bilateral tumors. Teratoid Wilms tumor is a variant of nephroblastoma with a predominance of heterologous tissues comprising more than 50% of the tumor volume. Wilms tumor does not usually secrete any specific tumor marker and all teratoid Wilms ...

We have detected specific endonucleolytic cleavages of mouse albumin mRNA by S1 nuclease protection analysis of total RNA from fetal mouse liver using a cDNA probe spanning the middle, coding region of albumin mRNA. With the use of probe labeled at its 5' end, three prominent cleavages were detected which were confirmed and their endonucleolytic nature was established by further analysis using ...

Neural tube defects are the major targets of prenatal diagnoses, along with Down syndrome. Prenatal diagnosis of spina bifida is possible at second trimester of gestation through α-fetoprotein and acetylcholinesterase biochemistry assays and ultrasound. In particular, the discovery of characteristic intracranial signs on ultrasound leads to a very high diagnosis rate. However, it is rare for sp...

We evaluated a two-site enhanced luminescence immunoenzymometric assay (Amerlite; Amersham International) for alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in maternal serum and amniotic fluid. The assay is rapid, involving two incubations totalling 4 h. The working range of the assay for serum AFP is 5.5 to 750 kilo-int. units/L (CV less than 10%), with a sensitivity of detection of 0.2 kilo-int. unit/L. The regres...

Elevated serum fetuin-B is suggested to be associated with insulin resistance, but it is unknown if this association is causal. The aim of this study was to explore the potential causal relationship between fetuin-B and insulin resistance.We used Mendelian randomization analysis by incorporating information of genetic variants in FETUB and serum fetuin-B concentrations with insulin resistance i...

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) producing gastric adenocarcinoma is considered as a rare subtype of gastric adenocarcinoma. Compared with AFP non-producing gastric adenocarcinoma, our study and other previous studies showed that AFP producing gastric adenocarcinoma is more aggressive and prone to liver metastasis. Using the Protein Pathway Array, 11 of out of 286 proteins tested were found to be differ...

High levels of alpha-1-fetoprotein are usually associated with nonseminoma carcinoma of the testis or hepatocellular carcinoma of the liver. We describe a male patient with extrahepatic hepatocellular carcinoma who presented with a large retroperitoneal mass and extremely high alpha-1-fetoprotein levels. The importance of taking an adequate biopsy specimen cannot be emphasised enough since both...

The association of biological markers with cancer has been recognized for many decades. Current interest in markers for cancer arose in the mid 1960s, with the discoveries of alpha-fetoprotein and carcinoembryonic antigen. They were called oncofetal proteins, because of their presence in high concentrations during embryonic development, their virtual disappearance in the neonatal period, and th...

OBJECTIVE To assess the potential value of maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) at 11-13 weeks' gestation in early screening for fetal neural tube defects (NTDs). METHODS Maternal serum AFP at 11-13 weeks' gestation was measured in 32 cases of fetal NTDs, including 18 cases of acrania and 14 cases of spina bifida, and 1,500 unaffected controls. The measured serum AFP was converted into mult...

A routine detailed ultrasound examination performed at 20 weeks' gestation demonstrated the presence of nuchal thickening as an apparently isolated finding. The concentration of maternal alpha-fetoprotein was normal and the risk of Down's syndrome was 1 in 6800. Amniocentesis was performed and chromosome analysis showed the karyotype 46,XY, del(11)(q23) found in Jacobsen syndrome. Fetal autopsy...